22nd July 2004

To my friends, customers and associates,

About five years ago, I contracted a very unpleasant disease known as Motor Neurone Disease (MND). Many doctors believe it is one of the worst ailments that can be contracted. Over a period of time, from three months and upwards, the muscles slowly contract and then die, although the mind is unaffected. This results in an active mind existing in an immobile body. The disease is terminal.

The University of Queensland has established the Queensland Brain Institute where highly qualified researchers are working to find cures for MND and allied illnesses. Professor Perry Bartlett and Dr Elizabeth Colsen are conducting research in the MND area and while progress is being made, there is yet no answer to the question of how and why this disease strikes. The disease can attack anybody without any logical reason.

My son Jeff and I have decided to commit the Index Group to raising funds to fight MND and support the research work of the Queensland Brain Institute. We are donating substantial funds ourselves, but to make the kind of progress that will deliver real results, the researchers need more.

We invite you, our friends, customers and associates to join us in donating to this very worthwhile cause.

I thank all of you with whom I have been associated over the years for your friendship. I have enjoyed a wonderful and interesting life and you have all contributed to it.

Please contribute to this appeal to fund MND research so in time, no one else has to suffer from this terrible disease.

With grateful thanks Ross Maclean


Ross Maclean