Stan Markham will take a leisurely two-mile stroll Saturday through downtown Bowling Green, an athletic feat that’s a far cry from his days as a star pitcher for Western Kentucky University’s baseball team. But the 71-year-old will bring more purpose to this event than he did when he was blowing fastballs by hitters back in the day.

Markham was a founding member of Bowling Green’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s in 2001, helped resurrect it in 2009 after a couple years’ hiatus and is now among the biggest fundraisers for an event designed to advance care, support and research into Alzheimer’s disease.

When he walks this weekend in this charitable event that starts and ends at Circus Square Park, Markham will be trying to help the local walk reach its goal of raising $125,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association, a target that would beat last year’s total of $116,000.

Markham is hoping 1,000 participants turn out for the event.

Sixty percent of the funds raised will stay local and go toward support groups, educational programs, care consultations and physician outreach, according to Kelly Sturgeon of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Greater Kentucky and Southern Indiana chapter. The rest will go to research and nationwide programs such as a 24-hour helpline and online educational programs.

Markham will have plenty of help in supporting a cause that he and others are passionate about. Bowling Green Area Lodging Association members have banded together to raise funds for the event and will have $1,000 of their donation matched by U.S. Bank.

“This is the first time we’ve challenged all of our hotels to do it as a group,” said Leslie Wright, area director of sales for Bowling Green’s Staybridge Suites and Hyatt Place hotels. “We’re trying to have some fun with it and see what we can raise as a group.”

The $2,500 or so that the lodging association contributes will be welcome, according to Markham and others involved in this fundraiser that benefits the fight against a disease that’s growing along with the country’s aging population.

Markham, who sells long-term care insurance and Medicare supplement insurance for a living, has seen firsthand the impact of Alzheimer’s, a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions.

“The real heartache of Alzheimer’s is the family having to watch their loved one’s memory and ability to take care of themselves gradually diminish to where most of them do not even recognize their spouse or parent,” Markham said. “I have seen so many tears and cries of anguish wondering why something can’t be done to help their loved one, but at this time there is just no cure. That is why we walk, so that someday a cure can be found to completely eliminate Alzheimer’s or at least delay its final stages by a few years.”

Saturday’s walk in Bowling Green is one of more than 600 events nationwide that raise funds for and awareness about Alzheimer’s.

Elizabeth Downing, a member of the local Walk to End Alzheimer’s committee, said the education about the disease is just as important as the money raised.

Dollars raised through the walks help research into medications and lifestyle changes that can help slow the progression of the disease and can also help raise awareness about Alzheimer’s.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans are living with the disease and another 16 million are acting as caregivers.

The numbers are rising, Downing said. She said the number of Kentuckians with the disease is projected to jump from 71,000 today to 86,000 by 2025. Nationally, the number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s is expected to reach 14 million by 2050.

As those numbers grow, Downing said, so does the need to educate the public about the disease.

“It’s not just forgetting where you laid your keys,” Downing said. “Alzheimer’s progresses to where you’re not getting the signals from the brain to maintain bodily functions.”

Another member of the local Walk to End Alzheimer’s committee, Emily Harlan, said the event will start with registration at 9 a.m., followed by an opening ceremony at 9:45 and the walk at 10.

“Even though it’s about something so devastating, this is a hopeful event,” Harlan said. “Someday we’ll have a cure. That’s really our goal.”

– Follow business reporter Don Sergent on Twitter @BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.