10K Walk Steps Up Awareness of AIDS : Fund-raiser: The event drew more than 2,000 to Irvine. A record $330,000 will go for research, education and patient care in the county.

The sun won out over threatening rain clouds Sunday morning as 1,800 adults and children took part in a 10K walk to support the battle against AIDS.

Organizers of the fourth annual Orange County AIDS Walk--the largest of its kind in the county--said a record $330,000 was raised.

Participants came to Mason Regional Park by automobile, motorcycle, bicycle and skateboard with children, dogs and friends to take on the 6.2-mile course that curled around this residential community.

“What separates Aids Walk Orange County from AIDS fund-raising events in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco is that our support comes from Orange County as a whole and not just from the gay and lesbian community,” said Robert Seline, one of the organizers. “Our support is broad-based. Orange County has banded together to fund the fight against AIDS.”

A record 40 corporate sponsors participated in the event, according to Patricia Crane, co-chairwoman of the board of directors of AIDS Walk. Crane said the public in the last year has gained a greater understanding of the disease and its seriousness.

“This is a community problem, not just a gay problem,” Crane said, adding that part of the AIDS Walk goal is to educate the public about AIDS.

Seline said the walk raised $330,000, about $5,000 more than last year’s event. Police estimated the crowd at 2,200, with about 1,800 actually walking the course.

“Although there are fewer walkers than a year ago, we raised more money per walker,” Seline said. AIDS Walk Orange County has raised $1.2 million since the event began in 1987. The money remains in Orange County for research, education and patient care.

At a rally in the park, Robert F. Gentry--a Laguna Beach city councilman and an associate dean of students at UC Irvine who is an acknowledged gay--told the crowd that they were the leaders in the fight against AIDS in Orange County. “Without you, this disease would remain on its present course. But with you, we will change that course.”

Many of those with AIDS, he said, are afraid to tell their families, their friends, landlords or employers. He said 1,500 Orange County residents suffer from AIDS and hundreds have died.

“We must fight to end the discrimination against those with AIDS and their families and their loved ones,” Gentry said.

Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, whose bid for reelection ended in defeat last week, received a standing ovation when he was introduced.

“As long as there is an AIDS Walk in Orange County, I hope it begins in Irvine,” Agran said. “This is a community that has taken a stand against the bigotry and hatred that infects our society,” he said, referring to the discrimination against AIDS victims and their friends and families.

Teacher Carole Elliott and 11 of her junior high students from McFadden Intermediary School came to the walkathon Sunday. “Some of them will walk and others will be the cheerleaders,” she said.

One of those students was Laura Henriksen, who walked with her mother, sister, grandmother and uncle.

“We’re here to help people with AIDS,” she said.

Her uncle, Ron McNeely of Laguna Hills, said he was part of a “healing circle” from the Huntington Beach Church of Religious Science. The group, composed of about 75 people, some with AIDS, meet every Monday night. It acts as a support group for those with the disease as well as their families and loved ones.

Representatives from 22 churches in Orange and Los Angeles counties joined in the walk Sunday.

Seline said there was much concern about the weather with many callers asking what they should do if it rained.

“It worked out just fine,” Seline said. Although it was humid, intermittent clouds shielded the sun, making it cooler for the walkers, who took between 1 1/2 and three hours to complete the course.

Nurse Judy Tuohey said the Red Cross had nine nurses and three air-conditioned vans on the course in case anyone needed medical assistance. Walk officials said no injuries or medical problems were reported.

County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, a longtime supporter of the fund-raising event, said the makeup of the crowd showed that public attitudes are changing.

“There is a tremendous difference in attitudes,” he said. “I see a greater understanding at the board level and in the press. I am excited by the progress and the understanding.”