The Alzheimer's Association, Orange County Expands Board - Chapter Announces the Addition of Four New Board Members

IRVINE, CA, December 05, 2010 (Press-News.org) The Alzheimer's Association, Orange County Chapter today announced that it has added four new members to its board of directors including David G. MacInnis, Richard F. Marr, Jr., Marla J. Joel and Michael J. Lancaster. This raises the number of board members to 16 to govern the chapter, along with a 10-person advisory board of non-voting members.

Paul Wexler, board chair, believes that "Orange County is seeing first-hand the devastating impact of Alzheimer's and dementia-related diseases on the key elements of our society: individuals, families, caregivers and employers. These dementia-related diseases are making Orange County one of the hardest hit regions, ranking fourth in the U.S., and third in the state for Alzheimer's-related deaths. To meet the needs of our community, we are adding strong community leaders to our board. At this time, we are extremely pleased to welcome four new board members."

• David G. MacInnis is president and co-founder of Gateway One Lending & Finance, a national indirect auto finance company headquartered in Anaheim, Calif. MacInnis previously served as executive vice president for Onyx Acceptance Corp., now part of Capital One, following 14 years at Western Financial Savings. He has served on the board of the Riverside Center for Independent Living, and worked for a number of years with the Walter's Children's Golf Classic raising money for Loma Linda Children's Hospital. A theater aficionado, MacInnis helped launch the annual Broadway Memories benefit for the Alzheimer's Association, featuring some of Broadway's brightest stars.

• Richard F. Marr, Jr. is a corporate attorney with California's largest firm, Rutan & Tucker, LLP, based in Orange County. Marr represents both public and private clients in areas including mergers and acquisitions, securities, corporate finance and technology and software licensing. Marr earned a Juris Doctor degree from UCLA with a specialization in corporate law, and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to becoming an attorney, he spent 10 years as an information technology consultant with both Ernst & Young and Andersen Consulting. Marr has been personally affected by Alzheimer's and dementia through both of his wife's grandmothers and his maternal grandmother.

• Marla J. Noel is president and board member of Fairhaven Memorial Park and Mortuary, an organization established in 1911, with more than 80 staff members located on the border of Santa Ana, Calif. and the City of Orange. Fairhaven has a mortuary in downtown Santa Ana, serving the needs of the Hispanic community, and a mortuary office in Mission Viejo.

Noel is a CPA with more than thirty years of experience in business. She obtained her MBA from Chapman and received her undergraduate degree is from Indiana University. She has served on various boards, including OC ARC, the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Ana and the Laguna College of Art and Design. Noel served as president of the Santa Ana Rotary Club, and is currently a member of the Irvine Spectrum Rotary Club. Noel is also a past president of Saddleback Sunrise Toastmasters and a member of Vistage International. She has also volunteered with the Alzheimer's Association, Orange County Advocacy committee (AAOC).

• Michael J. Lancaster is an attorney with the Irvine, Calif. -based firm of Stocker & Lancaster, LLP, specializing in business, real estate and construction litigation. He has been practicing for 26 years, and has a diversified litigation and transactional practice focusing primarily in real property, business and major torts. Lancaster has litigated more than 500 Superior Court cases to conclusion, including multiple jury trials, court trials, arbitrations and trials by reference. He also has a sophisticated transactional practice and acts as independent general counsel to numerous corporations.

Lancaster has served on committees for United Way, American Heart Association and Habitat for Humanity. Relatively new the Alzheimer's Association, he and his wife were very active this year in the production of Broadway Memories and the Fullerton Memory Walk. His mother's diagnosis prompted the Lancaster family's experience with Alzheimer's disease.

Each board term is two years, and members of the board of directors are allowed three consecutive terms before being required to move from the governing body for at least one year, at which time he/she may serve on the non-voting advisory board.

About Alzheimer's Association, Orange County
The Orange County Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association provides a comprehensive suite of programs and services — provided at no charge — to meet myriad and evolving needs of people with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, their families, caregivers and the community. For more information, please go to http://www.alzoc.org.