On October 4, 2026, the night before the Global Lyme Alliance Gala, the Lyme disease community gathered in the heart of New York City for something intentionally different.
GLA First Round, hosted by the Global Lyme Alliance NextGen Junior Board at Hard Rock Cafe Times Square, traded the formality of a traditional gala for a relaxed evening built around conversation, connection, patient support, and community.
Patients living with Lyme disease stood alongside advocates, nonprofit leaders, healthcare professionals, families, and friends. Some were longtime members of the community. Others were meeting people who understood their experience for the first time.
For Tick Boot Camp, that is exactly why nights like this matter.
A Different Kind of Lyme Disease Event in New York City
GLA First Round was held in the New York Room at Hard Rock Cafe Times Square on Sunday, October 4, 2026, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The idea was simple: create a welcoming place where people affected by Lyme and tick-borne disease could come as they are, spend time together, and build relationships before the larger Global Lyme Alliance Gala the following evening.
Guests enjoyed light bites, a welcome toast, and a casual atmosphere designed to make conversation easy. A portion of cash bar sales also supported Global Lyme Alliance, while proceeds from the event helped advance GLA’s continued work in Lyme and tick-borne disease research, awareness, and patient support.
Instead of focusing solely on fundraising or programming, much of the value came from what happened naturally around the room: people introducing themselves, exchanging stories, discussing doctors and treatments, reconnecting with familiar faces, and reminding one another that they are part of a much larger community.
Christina Kovacs and the Vision Behind GLA First Round
A major driving force behind the event was Christina Kovacs, a friend of Tick Boot Camp who recently stepped into her new role as Chair of Global Lyme Alliance’s NextGen Junior Board.
During the event, Christina joined Kristen Harris of Global Lyme Alliance to explain what they hoped the inaugural First Round would accomplish.
The goal was straightforward: raise support for GLA while creating a place where patients could meet one another, form relationships, and feel more connected to the broader Lyme disease community.
Christina described the evening as an opportunity to bring people together and build community. Kristen credited Christina and the NextGen Junior Board with helping create a relaxed gathering where people could connect before the Gala the following night.
The evening reflected an important part of Lyme disease advocacy that is sometimes harder to see online: relationships being built one conversation at a time.
Why Lyme Disease Community and Connection Matter
One of the strongest themes of the night was that healing journeys rarely come with one universal answer.
Cara Salzone, RN, shared that she wishes there were one answer, one supplement, or one “magic pill” she could point every Lyme patient toward.
But what she can confidently point people toward is support.
Whether someone was recently bitten by a tick or has been navigating chronic Lyme disease for 10 years, Cara emphasized the importance of finding people who understand, locating knowledgeable resources, and knowing where to turn when help is needed.
That is something Global Lyme Alliance and the broader Lyme disease community can help provide.
For people who have spent years feeling isolated, misunderstood, or dismissed, being able to walk into a room where lengthy explanations are not always necessary can be powerful.
The night reflected something Tick Boot Camp has seen repeatedly through hundreds of Lyme disease podcast interviews: information matters, treatment matters, research matters, and community matters too.
Helping Lyme Patients Find Support Through Global Lyme Alliance
Cara also explained how people can take the next step after an event like this and stay connected.
Global Lyme Alliance provides resources for Lyme and tick-borne disease patients, caregivers, and loved ones at different stages of their journeys. People can use GLA resources to help find Lyme disease specialists, connect with peer mentors and support groups, explore educational resources, and find other forms of patient support.
As Cara explained, patients can also connect with GLA through social media. Follow Global Lyme Alliance on Instagram and visit the Global Lyme Alliance YouTube channel for educational content, patient stories, interviews, advocacy, and updates from across the Lyme community.
People looking for help can also go directly to the GLA Lyme Patient Support page to explore available programs and resources.
That ability to move from an online interaction to a real relationship is important. A direct message, podcast episode, or social media post can become an introduction. An introduction can become a friendship. And a friendship can become part of someone’s support system during an extremely difficult illness.
Tick Boot Camp and GLA Bring Community Members to First Round
Before the event, Tick Boot Camp partnered with Global Lyme Alliance and Christina Kovacs to offer complimentary tickets to members of the Lyme disease community.
What began as a giveaway of two tickets ultimately grew to six free tickets for members of the Tick Boot Camp community.
The response reinforced why opportunities like this matter. Some applicants had been living with Lyme disease for years and wanted the chance to meet people who understood their experience. Others hoped to learn more about treatments, resources, and possible paths forward. For some, attending a Global Lyme Alliance event was something they had wanted to do for a long time but had not previously been financially possible.
The six complimentary tickets went to members of the community with very different stories but a shared desire for connection.
Sarah Stayton and her mother, Christine Stayton, attended together. Both have been affected by Lyme disease, and Sarah shared before the event that Lyme had taken away her mother’s ability to walk. They have continued searching for answers, support, and reasons for hope, and Sarah said being in a room with people who understood what they were going through would mean a great deal to them.
Oliver Lewis and his daughter, Lilly, traveled from Pennsylvania. Oliver is a musician, father, and Lyme survivor who told Tick Boot Camp he had wanted to attend Global Lyme Alliance events for years but had not previously been able to afford the cost. Receiving the tickets gave him and Lilly the opportunity to experience the event together and connect with the Lyme community in person.
Blair Ezra attended after living with Lyme disease for many years. She told Tick Boot Camp that she wanted to connect with other people who understand what it is like to live with Lyme and hoped to learn more about treatments and approaches that have helped others.
Dr. James Bruzzese also received a complimentary ticket. James recently opened a Lyme-focused medical practice in New York City after years of being personally connected to the Lyme community through his sister, Julia Bruzzese. His journey from brother and advocate to physician caring for people affected by Lyme disease is a powerful example of how personal experience can grow into purpose.
What mattered most was that those six tickets became six opportunities for people to walk into the room, meet others who understood, and become part of the evening.
Families Are Part of the Lyme Disease Journey Too
Lyme disease rarely affects only one person. Family members often become caregivers, supporters, advocates, and partners in the search for answers.
That family connection was visible throughout GLA First Round, including with Global Lyme Alliance board member Hannah Spires and her son, Whitman Spires.
Having patients, parents, children, caregivers, advocates, and nonprofit leaders together in the same room helps keep the human impact of Lyme disease at the center of advocacy.
The families represented throughout First Round also reflected something many people affected by chronic illness understand deeply: the Lyme journey often becomes a family journey too.
The Next Generation of Lyme Disease Advocacy
Another important part of First Round was seeing the next generation of Lyme disease advocates taking increasingly visible leadership roles.
The Global Lyme Alliance NextGen Junior Board gives younger advocates and supporters an opportunity to participate in awareness, fundraising, and community-building efforts while helping shape the future of the organization.
The energy of those advocates was visible throughout the room. The gathering gave Junior Board members an opportunity to spend time directly with Lyme disease patients, families, supporters, and advocates outside of a formal presentation or fundraising program.
Those interactions help connect advocacy leadership with the lived experiences of the people and families these organizations are working to support.
Advocacy Grows Through Personal Connections
Community-building does not happen only from a stage or through a fundraising campaign. Often, it happens through smaller conversations between patients, advocates, family members, supporters, healthcare professionals, and organizational leaders.
Those conversations can create new relationships, introduce people to resources, and inspire more individuals to become involved in Lyme disease awareness and advocacy.
They also allow people who may usually connect through social media, nonprofit work, podcasts, medical practices, or advocacy campaigns to spend time together without a screen between them.
Portraits by Illustrator and Event Artist Peter Hopkins
GLA First Round was intentionally informal, and some of the evening’s most memorable touches reflected that atmosphere.
Guests had the opportunity to have their portraits drawn by Peter Hopkins, an illustrator and event artist who created personalized artwork for attendees throughout the evening.
His live illustrations added another interactive element to the gathering and gave guests something personal to take home as a reminder of the night.
You can see more of Peter Hopkins’ work on Instagram at @hopkins_illustration or visit HopkinsIllustrations.com.
Touches like this helped First Round feel less like a traditional fundraiser and more like what it was intended to be: a welcoming gathering of people connected by a shared cause and a desire to support one another.
Lyme Disease Advocacy Works Better When We Work Together
Tick Boot Camp has had the opportunity to attend and document Lyme disease advocacy events around the country, each with its own personality, mission, and way of bringing people together.
That includes major awareness initiatives such as the Music for Action Lyme Awareness concert in Central Park, along with conversations with patients, physicians, researchers, advocates, and nonprofit leaders captured through the Tick Boot Camp Podcast.
Each gathering looks different, but an important pattern keeps emerging.
The Lyme disease community is stronger when patients, doctors, researchers, advocates, nonprofits, families, and supporters have opportunities to be in the same room.
For an illness that can leave people isolated for months or years, community itself can become an important part of moving forward.
It does not replace medical care.
It does not promise one universal treatment.
But it can provide validation, information, relationships, hope, and the reminder that no one has to navigate this journey entirely alone.
From GLA First Round to the Global Lyme Alliance Gala
First Round was only the beginning of an important weekend for Global Lyme Alliance.
The following evening, members of the Lyme disease community would gather again for the organization’s annual Gala, bringing together supporters, advocates, patients, healthcare professionals, and others committed to advancing Lyme disease research and patient support.
But before the formal program, fundraising, and larger celebration came something equally important:
People simply spending time together.
A first drink.
A new connection.
A conversation between two patients who understand each other without needing a lengthy explanation.
A family finding support together.
A longtime patient meeting people who understand her journey.
A physician whose family was deeply impacted by Lyme connecting with the community he is now working to serve.
And another reminder that even while much work remains to improve Lyme disease diagnosis, treatment, research, and awareness, there is a growing community committed to doing that work together.
Learn more through the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, explore our Lyme disease blog, learn more about persistent Lyme disease, or explore interviews with Lyme disease doctors and medical professionals.
