EP Joins 5,000 in record-breaking Race for the Cure
September 21, 2009
BANGOR, MAINE – September 21, 2009 A group of 30 Eaton Peabody (EP) employees, family members, and friends joined over 5,000 other Maine residents to walk, run, and ‘stroll’ last Sunday in the 2009 Komen Maine Race for the Cure. The race had a record-breaking year in participation and donations. Race sponsor EP was proud to contribute over $2,000 to the total of $327,735. Among the participants, Attorney Karen Huber’s daughter, Libby Huber, age 14, placed 95th out of 5,000 ,while Attorney Matt Raynes came in 785th pushing his son, Jacob, and daughter, Annie, in a stroller. His wife, Julie Mallett, placed 454th.
Sue Chandler, firm Billing Coordinator, spear-headed EP’s annual involvement for the fourth year in a row .“My friend, Nancy MacDonald, a Breast Cancer Survivor, is the one who convinced me to join her team 5 years ago”, said Chandler. “When you see the survivors march up to the stage in their bright pink shirts; some with hair, some without, some walking, some in wheelchairs, and the courage and conviction that they have to fight this disease, you realize how important it is to participate and help raise funds to find a cure for Breast Cancer. After that first participation in the Komen Race for the Cure, I was hooked and decided that Eaton Peabody should have our own team.”
Chandler oversaw team recruitment, online donations activity, alternative fundraising efforts, and general ‘morale boosting’. EP designates the Friday before the race as Cancer Awareness Day in honor of Komen Maine. Employees make monetary donations to wear jeans, and sport pink ribbon pins. Pink mums, a ‘Dinner and a Movie’ night, and a handmade bracelet were raffled off to add to the team’s fundraising contribution. ‘Team building’ homemade treats were enjoyed by all.
“Sue’s strawberry cupcakes, swirled in pink frosting, are always a big hit on ‘jeans day’,” said Tamrah Brown, Human Resources Manager.
In addition to EP’s traditional pre-race festivities, and those who choose to put ‘sweat equity’ into the actual race, other employees participated as volunteer staffers for the event. Peggy Hunt, Nicole Behr and Nancy Pendleton created and raffled a homemade quilt, an afghan, and jewelry. Chandler and Behr also volunteered working at the Komen ‘Shop for the Cure’. Huber, Sharon Seymour and Sarah Zmistowski provided welcomed relief at one of the two water stops on the course and, together with a handful of other volunteers, handed out water and good cheer to the thousands of race participants.
Earlier this year, Komen Maine announced that its 2010 race will be held in two locations for the first time – in Bangor, and in Portland. Noreen Alvarado Patient of EP’s Brunswick office, and Board Member of the Maine Affiliate of ‘Susan G. Komen for the Cure’, said “the 2010 Portland race will allow the members of EP’s Brunswick and Augusta offices to participate locally in the Race for the Cure, and EP looks forward to fielding a large team in both locations to show its continued support of ‘Komen for the Cure’.”
About ‘Susan G. Komen for the Cure’
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became ‘Susan G. Komen for the Cure’, which launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, ‘Komen for the Cure’ is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all, and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, nearly $1 billion has been raised, becoming the largest source of non-profit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about ‘Susan G. Komen for the Cure’, breast health, or breast cancer, visit komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.
About The Maine Affiliate of ‘Susan G. Komen for the Cure’
The program started in 1997 with a small group of women hoping to make a difference. Since that time, the Maine Affiliate has granted more than $1.5 million dollars to education, screening, and treatment programs in the State of Maine, and over $400,000 to breast cancer research. For more information, please visit komenmaine.org.
Media Contact
Fawn R. Wentworth, Marketing Manager
fwentworth@eatonpeabody.com
207-992-4805
