18th Annual MDA Night of Hope Gala Highlights the Byars Family’s ALS Journey and Honors Choate Construction

For nearly 75 years, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) has led the way in accelerating research, advancing care, and advocating for the support of our families.

The MDA Atlanta Night of Hope Gala for ALS Research has become one of the nation’s largest galas in support of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research and has raised over $12 million since its inception in 2006. The event was started 18 years ago by Holly and Palmer Proctor, to honor Holly’s father, Steve Ennis, and his strength, determination, and hope throughout his ALS journey.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Holly and Palmer about the community the Night of Hope has fostered and the impact it has made in ALS research. We also spoke with April and Guy Byars, who will be recognized as the 2025 Night of Hope Mission Impact Family, as they share April’s experience living with ALS.

A History of Night of Hope with Holly Proctor 

Holly & Palmer Proctor

What led you to start the MDA Atlanta Night of Hope Gala for ALS Research?

When my father was diagnosed with ALS in July of 2005, our family was devastated, hopeless, powerless and uneducated about ALS. Fortunately, we found help and hope through the MDA/ALS Clinic and Dr. Jonathan Glass in Atlanta.  In 2005, before the ice bucket challenge in 2014, we discovered there was limited awareness, research, and support for ALS.  I wanted to do anything and everything to help my father and so many others affected by ALS.  With my husband, Palmer, and the support of our family, friends, and community, we embarked on a mission to raise funds and awareness for ALS.  The Gala was started in 2006 in my father’s honor to raise awareness for ALS, bring hope to families living with the disease, and ultimately find new treatments through research funding so that one day others will survive ALS.

How has the MDA Night of Hope Gala evolved over the past 18 years?

The MDA Night of Hope Gala continues to be a testament to my dad’s strength, courage, and determination. Over the past 18 years, the Gala Committee and MDA continue to be passionate and dedicated in their commitment to find treatments and a cure for ALS. Thanks to the Gala committee, MDA, friends, family, and our community, the event has raised over $12 million since its inception in 2006. With these funds, giant steps toward a solution to the mystery of ALS are being made and our hope for a cure continues.

What are you looking forward to most at the 2025 MDA Night of Hope Gala?

2024 MDA Choate Group

I am looking forward to this year’s MDA Night of Hope Gala as we support the ALS community and continue the momentum of raising awareness and proceeds for ALS research. This year we are thrilled to honor Choate Construction Company as a founding sponsor and staunch supporter of the MDA Atlanta Night of Hope Gala.  Choate Construction, one of the largest general contractors in the Southeast, consistently demonstrates its commitment to the communities it serves and stands as a model of corporate citizenship. Their leadership has always shown a deep commitment to giving back. The Night of Hope has been fortunate to be a beneficiary of their generosity and friendship in the fight for a cure for ALS over the last 18 years.  Through their continued support, Choate Construction has played a vital role in supporting this important cause, and we are profoundly grateful for their unwavering partnership in helping us works towards finding a cure.

April and Guy Byars share the impact of hope and community 

How did you become involved in the MDA Atlanta Night of Hope Gala?

Harry Foster is a part of a men’s prayer group with me, he and his father, Jim Hinsdale, heard about April via a prayer request and offered us their table as they wouldn’t be able to make it in 2023. We invited a large group of friends and had a wonderful time.

Why do we need fundraisers like the MDA Night of Hope Gala for ALS Research?

The necessity of Night of Hope is in its name. ALS is awful, its nature as a currently indomitable thief of agency can lead to feelings of hopelessness in patients and their families. The Night of Hope helps lift the shroud of despair, it gives us all our agency back as we take action, and it acts as a beacon, something to look forward to the next year.

What is giving you hope through your ALS diagnosis?

April & Guy Byars

The work of all the doctors and scientists seeking to eradicate ALS gives us hope, certainly, but the community more than anything helps patients, and their families feel like we are not alone. We have people around us who care deeply–many of whom we don’t even know–they show up certainly at the events, but we feel love and support throughout the year, each action no matter how tiny acting as a ray of sunshine.

How has the work of Dr. Jonathan Glass and the Emory University MDA/ALS Care Center been part of your diagnosis and journey?

The MDA/ALS Care Center at Emory University is April’s clinic. Dr. Glass and his colleague at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Rothstein, have been working very closely with April since 2022 to slow down her progression and study her specifically to research her CSF in medical trials. April has the C9 variant, which is familial, so the true hope is that our sons, if they have to face ALS in the distant future, are equipped with the fruits of Dr. Glass’ labor and easily defeat it.

Event details 

The 2025 MDA Night of Hope Gala will be held on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at The InterContinental Buckhead Hotel. To become a sponsor, purchase tickets or donate, please click here.