TBBCF May 8th Annual Meeting Highlights
It was a night of celebrating milestones and looking to the future for the 100 people who attended the 12th annual meeting of the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation May 8, 2018.
“It is incredibly moving, inspiring and humbling to be here, but also motivating,” said Dr. Heather Parsons, an oncology physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, who was one of two keynote speakers at the meeting at Flanders Fish Market & Restaurant.
Parsons received a $100,000 grant from TBBCF and is studying ways technology can help identify tiny bits of breast cancer in the blood to streamline treatment and identify high risk cases.
Dr. Adrienne Gropper-Waks, an attending physician in breast cancer oncology at Dana-Farber who also has received a $100,000 grant from TBBCF, talked about her research in targeting treatments for breast cancer patients with stage II and III HER2 -positive tumors to cut down on the amount of medications they have to take.
“It’s so, so moving, I can’t express how grateful I am and how honored I am to be here with you today,” she said.
Also, at the meeting, the Great Neck Country Club Women’s Association, which has raised more than $35,000 for TBBCF, and Pamela Morris Watt, who has volunteered hundreds of hours at TBBCF and who, with her Pink Posse, has raised more than $75,000, were inducted into the 27th Mile Club. The club was established in 2009 to honor those who “have exceeded their personal goals and raised the bar for the rest of us.” Also recognized were the top fundraisers and top supporters.
Over the years, TBBCF has raised more than $4 million, all of which has gone directly to grants for research. Each year, three $100,000 grants are awarded to research doctors. Next year the foundation hopes to distribute four grants.
“There is a spirit that stands on your shoulder and keeps you going,” said Stacey Gualtieri, the TBBCF treasurer, referring to Norma Logan, who founded the organization with Sandy Maniscalco in 2005 in honor of their friend Terri Brodeur. Terri, a young mother of three, died of breast cancer in 2005. Norma Logan was diagnosed with breast cancer and died in 2006.
TBBCF donates 100 percent of its gross fundraising dollars directly to breast cancer research and has a target operating expense of 15 percent or less. In 2017, the operating expense ratio was 13 percent.
TBBCF’s signature fundraising event, “Walk Across Southeastern Connecticut” is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2018. The walk is a full, half or quarter marathon, which starts in Old Saybrook and finishes at Camp Harkness in Waterford. For information about the walk or to register as a walker or volunteer, go to www.www.tbbcf.org or call (860) 437-1400.