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Annie Konopka is a mother of two and she has been married to Joe for 17 years. Before she married Joe, Annie was very interested in a TV/Modeling career. She attended John Casablanca Modeling School and did some modeling in the late 80’s. Annie was a contestant in the 1987/1988 Miss NJ Pageant and the 2007 Mrs.NJ Pageant.

After her first child was born in 1995, Annie decided to leave the corporate world and become a stay at home mom. During this time, she started to exerience some of the early symptoms associated with Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease. However, when Annie became pregnant with her second child, the symptoms disappeared. After her second child arrived, the symptoms returned and Annie became very concerned. After 4 years of visiting general neurologists and movement disorder specialists, who tested her for everything ranging from lymes disease to Multiple Sclerosis, she was finally diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson's Disease by Dr. Matthew Stern from Upenn. Currently, Annie views her disease as a personal challenge and does not sit back and wonder why she received this diagnosis. Over the past 4 years, she has become involved in many aspects of the Parkinson’s Community.

In 2005, Annie and her friend Judy from Tennessee, who also suffers with Parkinson’s Disease, started USA Pd Pals online support & information group. USA PD-PALS made their debut at the 12th Annual Parkinson’s Unity Walk in 2006, raising over $17,000.00. After this top ten finish, Annie hosted the 1st Annual Have A Heart for Parkinson's Valentine Dinner Dance in February 2007 where she raised over $7,400.00. That was the first step in her fundraising efforts for the 2007 Parkinson's Unity Walk where she raised over $14,000.00. Adding this total to an additional $14,000.00 from her team resulted in a grand total of $28,000.00, which catapulted the team to a top ten finish for the second year in a row.

Annie currently serve as the 2nd Vice President on the board of New Jersey chapter of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association. She also volunteers with the Parkinson’s Alliance and is team captain for USA PD PALS (recruiting team members, organizing local fundraisers, writing sponsorship letters, and organizing team events).

In addition to these activities, Annie self published her 1st children’s book “A Tale of a Parkie Princess”, which will be available on barnesandnoble.com and other online book stores in March 2008. Her artwork has been exhibited at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital 2nd annual Art Show, she was the Recipient of “2005 Women Who Make Magic” Award, and the 2007 NJAPDA Excellence in Service Award. Also, when she competed in the 2007 Mrs. NJ USA pageant, she received the People’s choice award and was 1st runner up for the Community Service Award.

Over this past summer Annie and her family were selected to participate in a Parkinson's awareness campaign, produced by a major pharmaceutical company. The campaign, titled "Living with Parkinson’s Disease", will feature Annie's family in a DVD and printed brochures that will be distributed in doctors offices and seminars across the country. Her story was also selected to appear in the "Proud Hands of Parkinson’s" coffee table book, which will be launched in the spring 2008 .

Annie Konopka is a mother of two and she has been married to Joe for 17 years. Before she married Joe, Annie was very interested in a TV/Modeling career. She attended John Casablanca Modeling School and did some modeling in the late 80’s. Annie was a contestant in the 1987/1988 Miss NJ Pageant and the 2007 Mrs.NJ Pageant. After her first child was born in 1995, Annie decided to leave t... More