Who nominated me and why that was special:
This year’s VoY campaign is all thanks to my wife, Michaela Gardner. In 2023, she jumped in headfirst, fearless (shout out Taylor Swift) to her own VoY campaign and came out on the other side having raised $40,000 with a barebones team and a very short planning window before the March kick-off.
Michaela, or Miki as she’s known to almost everyone, inspires me daily. Her courageousness in uncertain circumstances, steadfastness when others are in doubt, and grace under pressure are just a few reasons I respect and admire her. Despite the hardships she has faced in the last several years, Miki has always found a way to see the light in the darkness and used those hardships as motivation to create easier times for others.
When she approached me with the idea of nominating me for this year’s campaign, I was skeptical. Fortunately, she saw right through my fear and encouraged me to remove my ego from the decision to participate and I’m incredibly thankful for her nudge.
I can’t wait to embark on the next 10 weeks by taking all of the wonderful accomplishments that Miki trailblazed on her campaign last year and applying them to my campaign in 2024. Having her by my side, supporting and mentoring me is just the icing on the cake.
My Why for participating:
This cause impacts people near and dear to my wife and me. We have immediate family living with forms of blood cancer and have also lost friends to the disease. We’re incredibly grateful for the medications that have been made possible through critical research powered by LLSC funding.
These stories combined with our family connections drove us to want to do more. Having participated in the 2023 campaign with my wife, I was fortunate to hear several survivor stories that were directly attributed to the fundraising that happened in the Visionary of the Year campaigns and those like it. Seeing the rapid advancements in research and treatment is the most impactful for me. These campaigns are making real progress towards eliminating the diseases and keeping the funding momentum going.
What I'm most looking forward to getting out of the 10 weeks:
I’m excited to get out of my comfort zone and out into my community by using my connections to benefit something bigger than myself. Our team has big goals and we’re picking right back up where last year’s team left off. Our golf tournament in May will be our major fundraising draw - we’re extremely excited to be hosting a major tournament at Brunello and can’t wait to engage our sponsors and community members to get together for such a worthy cause.
What I'm most look forward to achieving together as a team:
Hitting our fundraising target of $50,000! Working together to engage our networks and build awareness about the LLSC and its mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families