Mission Moment: It Takes a Team

More than 40 years ago, hotel executive Fred Alias accepted a friendly invitation from Shepherd Center co-founder Alana Shepherd to meet for lunch at her office. “I almost dreaded going,” Fred recalls. “I thought it was going to be sad. But it turned out to be one of the most positive, uplifting places I had ever been. I remember coming home and saying, ‘We’ve got to get involved.’” 

Since that inspirational lunch, the entire Alias family has supported Shepherd not only financially, but also by serving on boards, advisory panels, and steering committees, as well as volunteering their time for fundraising events. In 2006, Fred established the “Best Employee Attitude Award,” with substantial cash prizes given to the most outstanding Shepherd staff members each year. In 2015, Fred and his two sons, Shaler and Andrew, made substantial contributions toward the renovation of the hospital’s chapel.

The family’s dedication is most obvious, though, in the Alias Family Sports Teams program, which enables people with physical disabilities in metro Atlanta to compete locally, regionally, nationally, and even internationally. More than 20 athletes from Shepherd teams have represented the U.S. in the Paralympic Games, and several have won medals. Currently, more than 100 athletes—ranging in age from 15 to 71—play on Shepherd’s 10 teams: the Stealers (basketball), the Strikers (power soccer), the Spinners (track), the Smash (quad rugby), the Sharks (swimming), the Sluggers (softball), the Skiers (waterskiing), the Swords (fencing), the Cyclers (hand-cycling), and the Servers (tennis). 

Matt Edens, CTRS, has been coordinator of the sports teams since 2005. “Because of the Alias family, we’re able to buy new equipment and travel more than we’ve ever done,” Matt says. “We’re able to provide these athletes with competitiveness, health, and wellness. But it’s not just about the sports. Our patients can come down to the gym every night to watch teams practice. They get to see there is life after injury. Several of our athletes were injured decades ago, and they’re able to say, ‘I’ve been in your shoes.’ A lot of times, that is an ‘aha’ moment for patients who have just begun recovery.” 

Expanding the scope and quality of the sports team program has become part of the Alias family legacy. After 30 years, Fred still gets emotional when he talks about Shepherd Center. “I have never walked in that building and left when I wasn’t more up than when I went in,” he says. “It’s just the greatest thing I’ve ever been involved in.” Now, his oldest son, Shaler, serves on Shepherd’s Board of Directors, and Andrew is chairman of the Board of Trustees. 

“Growing up, I watched from afar as my dad served alongside the Shepherd family and other amazing board members to grow this place from an idea to a world-class facility,” Shaler says. “Then, after college, I had two close friends who were patients at Shepherd after complete spinal cord injuries. I watched as their lives were turned upside down by traumatic injuries, and then I witnessed firsthand as Shepherd slowly put the pieces back together and taught them that they could not only live a normal life, but an exceptional one.” 

As Shaler and Andrew established their own careers—creating a financial payment-processing firm called Repay in 2006—they began deepening their long-term involvement in Shepherd’s mission. “We are a giving family,” Andrew says. “We grew up being taught to give. But the people at Shepherd fostered my relationship with them by playing the long game.” As avid outdoorsmen, both Alias brothers connected personally with the direct impact their support could have on athletes. “I loved James Shepherd’s saying that Shepherd Center is the bridge between ‘I can’t’ and ‘I can,’” Shaler says. “One of the most powerful ways that I have seen patients come to fully embrace the ‘I can’ attitude is through the sports teams.“

Overcoming adversity takes a tremendous effort from the patients,” Shaler adds. “Supporting those patients takes a tremendous effort from the physicians, nurses, therapists, researchers, and staff at Shepherd Center. And supporting those staff members takes a tremendous effort from the community. Our family is committed to being a part of our community and supporting Shepherd Center for as long as it takes.”

Written by Teresa Weaver

This story is an excerpt from “Mission Moments: 50 Years of Rebuilding Lives One Moment at a Time,” a book celebrating Shepherd’s 50th anniversary in 2025.