Bicycle retailer Wheel & Sprocket will be presented with the Living & Giving Award on February 7, 2015 at the 11^th Annual JDRF Celebrity Gala presented by Grant Thornton and Galloway Company. In announcing the honor, JDRF Northeast Wisconsin Executive Director Julie Feest cited exceptional dedication and commitment by Wheel & Sprocket to JDRF and the type 1 diabetes (T1D) community.

The largest bicycling retailer in Wisconsin, Wheel & Sprocket and its owner, Chris Kegel, have been a long-time supporter of the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes program in all three Wisconsin JDRF Chapter regions.

Peter Coons, manager of the Wheel & Sprocket location in Appleton, has served as the coach of the Northeast Wisconsin JDRF Ride teams since 2001, helping more than 100 local riders participate in a program that has raised more than $1million and is the fastest-growing JDRF fundraising effort. Through mentoring, training rides and event support, Coons and Wheel & Sprocket associates have turned dozens of novice riders into confident cyclists capable of completing a 100-mile route.

“The JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes program gives people an opportunity to bike with a purpose,” said Coons. “I’m very proud of the way our chapter teams have always worked together in training and at the events, everyone pedaling for each other and to improve the lives of those with T1D. It has been a gratifying experience to be associated with JDRF and all of these wonderful riders.”

Tickets are still available for the JDRF Celebrity Gala presented by Grant Thornton and Galloway Company on Saturday, February 7, 2015 at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton. The evening begins at 5:30 and attracts more than 400 prominent guests, features spectacular entertainment, signature live and silent auctions and numerous networking and client cultivation opportunities.