I can't believe it's over... We made it through ten unforgettable weeks of fundraising in my campaign to be the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's 2015 Woman of the Year. And everyone's wondering, "Did you win?"
Well I didn't earn the title of "Woman of the Year" but I did win. In fact, all of the candidates did. Here's why...
I won because Cathy Jennings believed in me enough to nominate me for this crazy adventure.
I won because my employer, Central Penn College, gave me their full support and encouraged me every step of the way.
I won because I got to team up with amazing businesses and organizations like Roundtable Productions, Mint Photobooth, the Conference Center at Central Penn College, Lancaster Brewing Company, the Local 520 Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, The Jason Barshinger Band, Pamela's Flowers, Appalachian Brewing Company, Amuse Uncorked, Gold's Gym Linglestown and Camp Hill, Halifax School District, Konhaus Marketing, and Arooga's.
I won because I got to meet and learn from some incredible former candidates! Tania Srouji, Abeer Srouji-Allen, Rene Krebs, Brent Eshelman, Bob Carey, and more. I even got to team up with Nick and Dorothy Ferraro for an Elvis Tribute Show featuring The Philly Elvis!
I won because I got to spend ten weeks having fun and raising money with the BEST CAMPAIGN TEAM EVER - including my husband, my family, and my besties! I can't believe how lucky I am to have this group in my life! They lugged masses of yard sale items all over Central PA, wrapped what felt like thousands of candy bars in gift wrap, allowed their homes to be overrun with BINGO prizes, sat in the hot sun (while getting yelled at by shop owners), dressed up as penguins and hotdogs to collect donations on the street corner, made whoopie pies, sold soup, battled with orange cones, pounded the pavement to solicit donations, and even helped me to Facebook-stalk my competitors (just a little!)!
I won because I have a circle of family, friends, and colleagues full of generosity and heart who donated prizes, bought raffle tickets, attended events, and donated. Your support meant so much.
I won because I had some fierce competition to motivate and inspire me! All 11 candidates were amazing! I'm honored to be in their ranks! Huge congrats to our newly-named 2015 Man and Woman of the Year, Bryan Laudermilch and Jen Fertenbaugh (fyi... she raised over $74,000!!!)! I won because - TOGETHER - we raised a crazy amount of money (our team raised $21,810, and the candidates combined raised over $270,000!!!!). That money will ensure that kids like our Boy and Girl of the Year (Chase and Ady), our spouses, our parents, our siblings, and our loved ones will be able to live in a cancer-free world. Someday truly is TODAY.
Thank you everyone for an incredible ten weeks. I am so amazed and proud of what we were able to accomplish together!
#somedayistoday #mwoy2015
More than 1.1 million Americans are currently living with or in remission from a blood cancer. Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed. Every ten minutes, someone dies from these cancers. They are men, women and children of every race and every age. Learn more at lls.org.
