Barona Tribal Chairman Takes ALS Ice Bucket Callenge

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 3, 2014) - The Barona Band of Mission Indians is proud to join the worldwide effort to raise donations and awareness for the ALS Association through the Ice Bucket Challenge. Barona Tribal Chairman Clifford LaChappa proudly accepted the challenge from Sycuan Tribal Chairman Danny Tucker.

"On behalf of Barona, I am honored to accept this challenge by not only having a very cold bucket of ice water dumped on my head but also by making a $10,000 contribution to help wipe out this deadly disease," said Chairman LaChappa. "I'm going to pass the challenge along to three others, California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of the 80^th Assembly District, Cahuilla Band of Indians Tribal Chairman Luther Salgado and Don Speer, the Barona Tribe's longtime business advisor and friend."

On Wednesday September 3, students from the Barona Indian Charter School took time away from classroom studies to dump the bucket of ice water on Chairman LaChappa at the Barona Creek Golf Club and also help present the contribution to Steve Becvar, the executive director of the ALS Great San Diego Chapter.

"The ALS Association Greater San Diego Chapter would like to thank the Barona Band of Mission Indians and Chairman Clifford LaChappa for their tremendous support of ALS through the Ice Bucket Challenge," said Becvar. "These are unprecedented times for this horrible disease and with this support, the impact and fight against ALS broadens and gets even more exciting. Thank you again!"

About the Barona Band of Mission Indians
The Barona Band of Mission Indians, recognized by the United States government as a sovereign nation, has lived on the Barona Indian Reservation in rural eastern San Diego County since 1932. Prior to that, the Tribe lived on the Capitan Grande Reservation which was established by the federal government in 1875. Long before living on a reservation, the Tribe traveled across Southern California in tune with the seasons and what nature provided. Today, the sovereign nation, governed by an elected Tribal Council, is serving its Tribal members, their families, and sharing with the San Diego region. One of the most successful gaming Tribes in the country, Barona also owns and operates the Barona Resort & Casino, San Diego's leading gaming resort, casino and golf course. For more information, visit www.barona-nsn.gov.

About ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.

For more information on ALS or how to donate to the cause please visit www.alsasd.org.