Highlands Chapter October Meeting:  Alpha-Gal

Date:

• Thursday, October 8, 2026

Time:

• 6:30 social time;
• 7:00 pm announcements and speaker

Place:

• Witherspoon Hall
• First United Presbyterian (west side of campus)
• 695 E Calvin Street
• Fayetteville AR 72703
• For Google Map see:  695 E Calvin St – Google Maps

Speaker:

• Dr. Steve Harms
• “Overview of Research on Alpha-Gal”

What to Bring:

• Refreshments to share if able

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Ten years ago, very few hikers had ever heard of alpha-gal syndrome, the disease transmitted by ticks which causes allergic reactions from eating red meat and other foods derived from mammals. Now, several Highlands Chapter members have it and we are all at risk–from a warming climate, increasing deer populations, and being out enjoying the woods, even in our own backyards.

Fellow Ozark Society Highlands Chapter member Steve Harms, a retired physician, has used his medical background to examine the state of research into alpha-gal syndrome and will share what he’s learned at the next chapter meeting, this coming Thursday, October 8. As we look forward to the beginning of fall hiking season, this will be very timely information.

The meeting will be held, as usual, in the First Presbyterian Church’s Witherspoon Hall meeting room on the west side of the church complex on Calvin Street in Fayetteville.

Meeting room doors open at 6:30 for social and snack time. At 7:00, after brief announcements, Dr. Harms will share what he has learned after studying more than 100 scientific papers on alpha-gal. For those who can’t attend in person, information will be provided later.

Steve Singleton

Vice Chair/Program Chair

Highlands Chapter

aerialobserver@gmail.com