In The Spotlight
SKATE4SPOHNC, 100K
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS
Larry Menkhoff, Arlington, TX
Dateline: 20 September 2009. Place: Irving, Texas.
It was dark at 6:00 in the morning. The sun was more than an hour from rising above the tree line running by the river. An owl hooted in the distance. The stars were brilliant in the brisk morning air and the camp fire was kindled with mesquite charcoal.
No, this is not the opening of some cheap western novel; but it was the beginning of the wonderful story of a daunting challenge and a test of physical endurance. It demonstrates how an individual can make a difference; an individual with a little help from family and friends can make a very big difference.
In our story, that individual is Rick Agee, a relatively new member of the SPOHNC chapter in Dallas-Irving. Rick was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue in October of 1997. He had two surgeries to remove a “small lesion.” Everything was fine until 2007 when he had a recurrence that required radiation therapy and then another recurrence in December of 2008. Once again he was treated with surgery and has been cancer free since that time.
In February of this year, Rick joined the SPOHNC Dallas-Irving chapter. He felt that being part of the chapter changed and enriched his life in a way that he never expected. He was deeply grateful and wanted to give back to the organization that had given so much to him. Consequently, he decided he would like to do something to show his appreciation of SPOHNC and came up with a remarkable idea and dedicated himself to a remarkable feat. Rick created a plan for a SPOHNC fund raiser which included him grinding out 100 kilometers on his inline skates (that’s a little better than sixty miles, folks)!
Would he do it? Could he do it? There were doubters, but there were also believers; enough believers to surround him with support and encouragement at every turn. As the clock struck 7:00 AM, on Sunday morning, September 20th, Rick took off on his well-measured course. He would attempt to skate seven laps of nine miles each on the Campion Trails from Richardson Grove Park in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. At sixty-three miles, that would better his goal of 100K.
On each lap, skaters, bikers, runners and walkers would join in or drop off as Rick soldiered past the pavilion base camp for the event. The pavilion was buzzing with activity from the very early morning with volunteers hanging the banners, serving up coffee and muffins, icing down the water bottles, preparing the food to feed the masses and cheering Rick on as he passed by on each lap.
Joining us for the day was Mrs. International 2009, Armaiti Shahidi Fitzgerald. Arma is also the Founder and President of the Fight Oral Cancer Foundation (www.FightOralCancer.org) located in Plano, Texas. She graciously posed for pictures with eager attendees while assisting her husband, Dr. Lee Fitzgerald, DDS, who generously offered his services for free oral cancer screenings.
Dr. Fitzgerald carefully screened numerous attendees, volunteers and participants. Among those screened, he discovered 5 suspicious spots on various individuals and encouraged them to seek further diagnosis from their personal doctors.
In addition to the oral cancer screenings, Cathy Seigel of Dallas Zen Massage was in attendance giving free upper body massages to all comers. She also relieved a lot of post exertion stress for several of the marathon participants. Her services were truly appreciated.
The SPOHNC efforts were extremely well supported by the Pegasus Flyers Inline Skate Group. Their skaters rallied in large numbers to support this fund raiser for SPOHNC. Members of this fine organization paced Rick as he skated while offering encouragement and driving him ever onward. They were a great spiritual motivation for Rick and their presence was a big key to his success.
Pegasus member Jeff Hess was involved in the very early planning of this event and participated at all levels helping to insure a successful outcome. His tireless services were greatly appreciated. Jeff even suited up and skated a couple laps with Rick to further exhibit his strong support for the event and organization.
Rick received invaluable assistance from inline skating coach Phil Cassassa who helped prepare Rick for the marathon skate with exercises, skating tips and other assistance which aided Rick in his quest. Lovingly referred to as “Uncle Phil”, he actually donned his skates and protective gear to roll with Rick for over 40 miles.
Rick was also shadowed by a two-time cancer survivor and member of the Pegasus Flyers, Doug Darrel. Doug was a great inspiration to Rick as the two skated stride for stride throughout the event.
Medical monitoring was available from paramedic Tim Mock. Tim arrived with his medical kit early in the morning and remained throughout the day treating blisters, scrapes and scratches. His services were well appreciated by his “clients” that day.
Volunteers from the Dallas-Irving SPOHNC chapter worked throughout the event along with numerous other volunteers supplying food preparation, keeping the water bottles iced down, photography, counting laps, logging in participants and visitors and all the many other duties that are required for a successful event of this nature.
Throughout the event, numerous SPOHNC members, most with their families, came and went as their schedules permitted. All insured they were there during one of Rick’s passes to offer him their encouragement and best wishes.
After the coffee and muffins in the morning, lunch consisted of Angus beef burgers cooked over mesquite charcoal, BBQ ribs, chopped BBQ beef, chicken & rice soup, hot dogs, cookies and all the accompaniments. Rick’s brother, Kerry, served the effort as chef du jour and was assisted by Mike Williams and SPOHNC member, Larry Menkhoff. An untold number of folks enjoyed the fine food dished up by the cooking team. There was no charge for any of the food or drinks as much of it was donated.
Amanda Agee, Rick’s niece, along with Amie & Emilie Klein and Chrissy Jewell set up a water station to insure each of the skaters, bikers, runners and walkers were well hydrated in the Texas heat. They were greatly appreciated by the participants.
So in the end, did Rick accomplish his goal? You’re darned right he did! Rick completed his 100K about 7 hours after he started. He only took breaks upon lap completions to hydrate, change shirts and then back to the grind. To say he was tired would be an understatement. Moreover, he made a strong statement through his tenacity, endurance and his purposeful determination to complete the ambitious undertaking.
Following the event, revelry was convened at K’s Old Fashion Hamburgers in Dallas. Usually closed on weekends, K’s opened this day for the purpose of hosting the SKATE4SPOHNC after event party. The event drew upwards of 100 people, all hungry for one of K’s delicious offerings. The major prize drawings of donated gifts and services were held during this event. Among the numerous items awarded were a set of K2 Inline Skates, a Telos Fitness Center membership, a series of treatments at Preston Royal Acupuncture, Oak Ridge and Twin Creeks golf packages, numerous gift certificates and even a SPOHNC ribbon tattoo won by Carl Skoogland.
Other Financial Sponsors and Prize Donors for the event included ADS Sports Eyewear, Agee Brothers, All American Press, the State Fair of Texas (www.bigtex.com) Bruce Miller Nurseries, Biggerstaff Construction Co., Brookhaven Country Club, Brunelli Family Dentistry, Bruce Barbash Center for Dental Solutions, Canyon Creek Country Club, Club Schmitz, Cooper Aerobics Center, Crawford Supply, Chambers Nursery, Carol’s Cards and Gifts (SPOHNC survivor/member), Dallas Eurocars, Dr. Lee Fitzgerald, Design Maintenance Construction, Edwin L. Cox, Fight Oral Cancer Foundation, Floratech Wholesale Nursery, Gardeners in Community Development, Harold Duncan, Ph.D., Jamba Juice, Jim & Cristy Bellinghausen, Joe’s Pizza & Subs, K2 Sports, Plan B, Professional Nutrition Therapists, Rockwall Signs and Wraps, Rollerblade, Rosemeade Market & Greenhouse, Skin & Beyond, Southwest Wholesale Nursery, Starbucks Coffee, Stone River Landscape, Strong Travel Services, Tupinamba Mexican Food Supreme, Two Men and A Truck, Tsada Yoga, Traeger Grill, and Wire Hare Designs. Sincere thanks are extended to one and all.
The Dallas Morning News ran an article announcing the SKATE4SPOHNC event two days before it was held. This helped the organization to get the word out and was most likely responsible for some of the participants and attendees that day. It was very supportive of the event and was good coverage for SPOHNC as well.
The day of the event was covered by local television media and was featured on the evening news in Dallas, Fort Worth and the surrounding metropolitan area. This was good exposure for SPOHNC and hopefully it will lead to increased awareness of our mission and interest in our local chapters.
Financially, the event was a success far beyond Rick’s initial expectations. Donations were received from numerous businesses, individuals and groups. Those contributing at the $400.00 level and up included Steve Taber of Southwest Wholesale Nursery, Andrew and Jan Haynes who is also an oral cancer survivor, Frank and Carol Sanker as well as Brent and Crystal Railsback. In all, 273 families donated to the event through direct contact while others sent their generous contributions directly to SPOHNC headquarters.
Rick enjoyed the FULL support of his family for this challenge. Various family members including Rick’s wife, Kim, and sister-in-law, Janie, were very instrumental from the initial planning through execution of the event. Rick’s son, Taylor, was a huge help on the web site design (www.skate4spohnc.com) and his mother, brother, sister and aunt were in attendance and actively involved.. We all know how important our family support is and Rick certainly enjoyed it in huge helpings on this occasion.
In the final tally, the SKATE4SPOHNC-2009 event netted more than $12,400.00 from this fund raising event. This money will be donated to SPOHNC headquarters and used for the operation and general use of SPOHNC’s national headquarters for raising awareness of oral, head and neck cancer and funding the Outreach Program which provides information, support, encouragement and hope to cancer patients.
When asked whether he intended to make this an annual event, Rick suggested we ask that question of him some time later. Knowing Rick as we do, we strongly suspect we’ll see a repeat event next year.
On behalf of the Dallas –Irving chapter of SPOHNC, we want to thank all the volunteers, participants, donors and supporters of the SKATE4SPOHNC-2009 event. Not only was it a very successful program, we heightened the awareness of Oral, Head & Neck Cancer in a way that will be memorable for a lot of people for a long time.
Cheap western novel……..I don’t think so.
With Sincere Appreciation to All Contributors of SKATE4SPOHNC
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