Jon Blais and Jeff Kaufman are two men who refused to fade away and die quietly.
Blais inspired an army of athletes by finishing the 2005 Ironman Hawaii in a heroic effort, the only athlete diagnosed with ALS to complete the grueling endurance race.
Kaufman has survived with the fatal disease for 20 years, breathing with a ventilator and utilizing his still-sharp mind to coordinate a gala that generates more than $250,000 annually to support research being done at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.