Tuesday's Update

This morning I had my first opportunity to meet with the Mayor of Rochester, Tom Richards, since he won the Special Election earlier this year and I had the chance to share with Mayor Richards a little bit about Camp Good Days, as well as our latest initiative, CANCER MISSION 2020…THE END OF CANCER BY THE END OF THE DECADE and some ways in which we could work together on this important initiative.

I then had lunch with my longtime friend and Camp Good Days’ Board Member, Dick Kaplan, who as a very successful businessman with years of leadership and strategic management experience, is helping us to formulate a solid business plan as we move forward with CANCER MISSION 2020.

This evening we will be meeting with a large group of parents and some campers to inform them all about the programs their children will be attending this summer; share with them what we expect from them as parents and from their children as campers, as well as what they can expect from all of us at Camp Good Days. This is another way in which we are striving to have open lines of communication and ensure that all of our campers have the most wonderful and beneficial experience possible while they are at Camp Good Days. These meetings are also taking place in Ithaca, Syracuse and Buffalo and we hope that they will serve to further build and strengthen our relationships with the many families we serve.

Sadly, I learned today that Elizabeth Messick, one of our long-term campers and someone who has been a part of the Camp Good Days’ family for many years since she was a camper, passed away yesterday. I was so proud that after she was a camper, Elizabeth went on to become a nurse. Elizabeth had to deal with a variety of challenges as a result of the effects from her battle with cancer and the treatments, but she was always so excited to be a part of our summer camping programs and had many special friends at Camp and in fact I had just talked to her recently about how much she was looking forward to Camp this summer. Our hearts go out to the Messick family and Elizabeth will be missed by all of her Camp Good Days’ friends.

Once again, this dreadful disease has hit very close to home. Clouding everything this past weekend and this week has been the fact that Tammy, who has been a part of our staff for many years, and her husband, Ron, whom she met through Camp Good Days, as Ron has been a volunteer and involved with many of our programs and committees for the better part of 30 years, and has been facing his own battle with cancer since being diagnosed last year, were dealt a major setback this week. It’s hard to believe that just one week ago, we all had dinner and visited the cemetery together, as it was the fourth anniversary of Wendy and Tammy’s mom passing, after battling uterine cancer. Now, just a week later, Ron is in the hospital battling for his own life.

If you needed a reason to check out CANCER MISSION 2020 (www.cancermission2020.com) and join us in the important initiative to END CANCER BY THE END OF THE DECADE by all coming together to find a comprehensive, cohesive and collaborative way to end this disease, then I urge you to just think about Ron and all those who are battling this disease right now, and all those who will have to face a cancer diagnosis today.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but as of right now it’s looking like a day full of meetings, which I will update you all on in a future post and please keep the Messick Family and Tammy & Ron and their family in your thoughts and prayers.