On Friday night, we celebrated a wonderful occasion at the Clubhouse: a celebration to mark our 12th birthday serving those impacted by cancer in the Nashville area and to honor the contributions of some very special volunteers.

It was great to see so many friends, including a few from the “Back of the Line Gang.” There were lots of hugs as we caught up with each other, expressed amazement at how quickly the summer has gone by and ate lots of great food. It was like an old-fashioned potluck family reunion topped off with yummy birthday cake from Whole Foods.

But the highlight of the evening was taking time time to honor some folks whose gifts of time and talents help make the work of Gilda’s Club possible.

Our “Volunteers of the Year”:

• Denny Porr and Bruce Lyon, St. Thomas Wellness Center.

Bruce coached Gilda’s Gang walkers and Denny coached the runners in 2007, 2008 and 2009. That’s 16 EARLY Saturday mornings times three … but whose counting?

• Dr. Mike Callaway and Heritage Medical.

Whether pounding the pavement on training walks or giving blood pressure checks back at the Clubhouse, this team’s fund-raising prowess and contributions to Gilda’s Gang in honor of their colleague, the late Dr. Gail Addlestone, are legendary. We are thankful for their participation and the inspiring example they set for the rest of us.

• Jennifer McNamara of Simply Pilates.

Jennifer’s classes at the Clubhouse have been a wonderful addition to our wide range of offerings for our members. Felice Apolinsky, program director, noted that Jennifer works with members at their level and modifies the exercises to meet individual needs. And if Jennifer’s own graceful walk and posture is a result of Pilates, we think everyone should take part!

• Whole Foods Market.

From cooking classes by chef Charae McMann to providing food for our expanded Kid Support program to making us part of their 5% give back program, Whole Foods has answered with a generous “yes” anytime we’ve asked.

As a volunteer myself, I second what Bruce said Friday night when he accepted the award: we get more from our relationship and our activities with Gilda’s Club than we give. But as a member of the Board of Directors, I also know that the important work that Gilda’s does — free of charge — and the role it plays in our community would not be possible without the support and generosity of our volunteers.

Bruce, Denny, Dr. Mike and Heritage Medical, Jennifer and Simply Pilates, Charae and Whole Foods — we can’t thank you enough.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

We all heard that question when we were children, and I’ll bet all of you have asked a child that at least once or twice.

But why should it only be in childhood that we are expected to think about that question? Shouldn’t we always be growing, developing, changing? And as we live longer, and the economy, well, shall we say offers us opportunities sometimes to change our course, shouldn’t this question be something we ask at various points throughout our lives?

Some of you know that I’m entering my own transition. My daughter, who has been the focal point of my life since she was conceived 19 years ago, is headed to the University of Tennessee in August. The list of very mixed emotions is too long for a blog post, but the one I want to focus on here is anticipation. Anticipation of the opportunity to perhaps change my own course … or not. But I plan to spend the next year or so really reflecting on what I’ve done, what I’m doing and what I want to do next with my time and my talents.

So far, the “What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up” list has been a blank slate … until Thursday night. That’s when it hit me. I want to be Ronna Rubin.

Is this not the cutest darn thing? The energetic sparkle was already in Ronna's eyes, even then!

Or rather, I should say, I want to follow in Ronna’s footsteps and do something — make some mark — that is worthy of the honor Ronna received at the Gilda’s Club annual Art Auction and Dinner. Ronna, owner of Rubin Media and longtime Gilda’s Club board member, is the inaugural recipient of the Nancy Saturn Award of Inspiration, named for the late Nancy Saturn, who started the Art Auction to raise funds for Gilda’s in conjunction with her iconic American Artisan Festival.

As Gilda’s Club director Sandy Towers presented the award, the word that really caught my attention was “galvinizer.” It is the perfect word to describe Nancy’s role in the community and the perfect word to describe Ronna’s contributions to Gilda’s Club and to the cause of cancer survivorship. Webster’s defines “galvinize” as “to stimulate or excite as if by an electric current.” Certainly being around Nancy was an electric experience. Same is true for Ronna, who is like an Energizer Bunny who just made the finals of Last Comic Standing.

The cool thing is … this is precisely what the creation of this award in Nancy’s honor is supposed to do — inspire people. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I want to do something worthy of that award some day. And I hope that I have lots of competition from folks in that room who felt the same way.

Congratulations Ronna and thank you for your inspiration!

Thank you to all the artisans who donated pieces for the auction.

And a special thank you to the Saturn family for continuing  the American Artisan Festival and the Art Auction in your parents’ memories. The spirits of Nancy and Alan were felt throughout the festival and were certainly present on Thursday night!

Producing a magazine can sometimes be like gestating and birthing a baby. Usually it doesn’t take nine months, thankfully, but there are other similarities, including the editor’s version of counting all 10 toes and fingers, looking over every page a dozen times to make sure there are no major errors we missed.

We are now ready to present to the family the online version of the latest issue of Momentum, the magazine of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center — most especially a moving first-person account of her own story by Michelle Eckland and a video that relates the story of Team Moe, including interviews with Moe Mantus and Michelle as well as footage/still photos of the marathon.

Gilda’s Gang members have been added to the mailing list — the print version will “drop” as soon as the check for the postage clears (gotta love the fiscal responsibility of mailing houses!). I also will drop a bunch by the Clubhouse so you can pick up one when you are there.

On the web site, there are places for comments, so please share your thoughts while you are there. And please feel free to share links to Michelle’s story and/or to the video, which is available on YouTube, with your family and friends via email, Facebook or other forums.

Special thanks to a passionate and creative editorial team, including editor Melissa Marino, photographer Joe Howell and video editor extraordinaire Carole Bartoo for their work on this project. I am as proud of them as I am of Gilda’s Gang and Team Moe.

Here are the links:

A MO-tivational Marathon (video)

Stories of Survival (Michelle’s Story)

Today is National Cancer Survivors Day, which is set aside each year on the first Sunday in June to honor the growing number of cancer survivors in this country. More than 11 million of them, living with, through and beyond a cancer diagnosis. But it’s not just those who have heard “you have cancer” who are survivors. The friends, family, co-workers who have heard someone say “it’s cancer” are also survivors.

In communities all across the country, people will gather today to hear inspiring speeches from folks who have been impacted by the disease. They’ll release balloons into the air. They’ll sip punch and eat cookies. They’ll hug each other. They’ll cry. They’ll laugh and pose for pictures.

We’ll do the same here in Nashville. Gilda’s Club is one of many organizations that will gather this afternoon at the Vanderbilt Student Life Center. At least count, we were expecting about 400 adults and kids to attend, and we’ve heard from at least four media outlets that they have us on their coverage list today.

Over the years, I’ve realized that cancer has a ying-yang quality to it. My work with researchers has taught me that it’s caused by having too much of some things (the signals to make abnormal cells grow) and not enough of something else (the signals to tell abnormal cells to die). And my experience with survivors has taught me that it’s about things lost and things gained. Certainly cancer takes away — health, strength, mobility, even life itself. But it also can give — a chance to reassess priorities and direction, the opportunity to share and connect with others in a way that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

For me, through work with Gilda’s Club, cancer has been the thing that has brought together many wonderful people and created many important and meaningful relationships that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. I hate cancer but in a weird way, I’m also thankful for it.

So here’s to all the survivors out there … keep on survivin’.

It’s that time of year again — National Cancer Survivors’ Day is coming up June 6, and there will be a big party at the Vanderbilt Student Life Center.

While the Celebration of Cancer Survivorship is hosted by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, it is free and open to anyone who has been impacted by cancer, including survivors, family and friends, caregivers, health professionals, researchers, advocates and others. Community organizations like Gilda’s Club Nashville are invited to attend and share information about their services.

This year’s event will feature:

• Lilly Oncology On Canvas ™ art exhibition honoring the physical and emotional journeys people face when confronted by a cancer diagnosis. This free public exhibit, which is touring communities nationwide, will showcase 25 select pieces of art from the 2008 Oncology On Canvas™ competition.
• Keynote speaker Rachel Lozano, three-time survivor of Askin’s tumor of the spinal cord, artist, writer, student and nationally known inspirational speaker.
• A Survivorship Recognition Ceremony
• A Swingin’ Safari giving childhood cancer survivors and children touched by cancer in their families a chance to go bananas with fun and games.

You can learn more or reserve your seat for this event by visiting the online registration site.

In the meantime, check out this new video to celebrate survivors. You just might see folks you know.

Dick Boland was a nominee for the Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Award, one of the Nashville community's most prestigious awards recognizing the efforts of volunteers.

This is a quick post to share a story with you. My colleague Dagny Stuart wrote this article about volunteer Dick Boland for House Organ, the magazine for staff and faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

As I read it, I noticed that among the places Dick has invested some volunteer time is at Gilda’s Club Nashville. So I didn’t want y’all to miss it.

Enjoy!

Click here for the full story.

PS. The nice photo was shot by colleague Susan Urmy.