Last night as I was preparing to speak in front of dozens of families afflicted by Cystic Fibrosis, the emotions hit me all at once. After serving the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Rainbow Chapter of Northern Ohio for the last 22 years, I was about to walk up and accept the 2020 Chapter Hero Award.

I thought about the amazing families I’ve met, the doctors and all the generous volunteers. The THOUSANDS of phone calls we’ve made asking people for money to battle this genetic disease! And it’s working! It’s unreal how much progress has been made both in research and having the average life expectancy of someone with Cystic Fibrosis DOUBLE during this time.

Then it dawned on me when I first got involved with CFF over 22 years ago. I didn’t know a single person with Cystic Fibrosis. I was just asked to get involved. Now… here I am today. HUMBLED, THANKFUL and COMMITTED having raised millions of dollars and helped thousands of families over the years.

I feel as strongly and energized about finding a cure as I did when I started in 1998. We are ALMOST THERE! If all it takes is money and research to cure this thing, we’re not leaving. I’ll be standing here with Kaulig Companies working until CF stands for CURE FOUND.

♾ THAT’S PROGRESS ♾