Stories of Hope

Tony Markel
National Insurance Industry Council supporter and Industry Challenge leader
Although Tony Markel’s connection to City of Hope started through his business, it grew deeply personal — inspiring him to become chair for the Industry Challenge.
Sam and Sarah Richardson
National Business Products Industry supporters and Industry Challenge leaders with their daughters, Grace, Vivian, and Samantha
“We were taught that you give what you can and we want to send that same message to our children. That’s why we’ve left a gift of life insurance to City of Hope. It’s an easy way to provide for our daughters and leave a legacy of hope that will help future families.”
Lynda Colucci
National Insurance Industry Council supporter and Industry Challenge leader
I can’t think of a better way to push toward a cure than by investing in the future of City of Hope.
Dick and Carole Spezzano
Southern California Food Industries Circles supporters and Industry Challenge leaders
Dick Spezzano and his wife, Carole, consider themselves doubly lucky. They have not been personally touched by cancer and they have had the good fortune to be touched deeply by their involvement with City of Hope. “It’s easy to appreciate what City of Hope does,” says Dick. “You see the results in lives saved.”
Tracy and Doug Lape
Northern California Food Industries Circles supporters and Industry Challenge leaders
Tracy and Doug Lape have given a lot of thought to the kind of legacy they hope to leave. It started with a conversation on the executive board of the Northern California Food Industries Circles, of which Tracy is a member. “Doug and I hadn’t gotten around to making our will yet,” Tracy explains. “So when the subject of creating a personal giving challenge for City of Hope came up, we decided to act.”
Hodges and Joe Carroll
International Home Furnishings Industry supporters and Industry Challenge leaders
Although they live in North Carolina, Hodges and Joe Carroll could not feel more connected to the International Home Furnishings Industry group and to City of Hope if they lived in Los Angeles. Joe’s career as publisher of Furniture Today made him an eyewitness to the last 40 years of City of Hope’s successes — successes due in part to generous funding by the International Home Furnishings Industry. Joe puts it this way: “It’s a very giving group. It’s also like a big family, to me and to those who are involved.”
Bob Enk
National Business Products Industry supporter and Industry Challenge leader
Bob Enk credits his father for giving him his start in business products, and it is in his father’s memory that Bob has stepped forward to lead the City of Hope Industry Challenge on behalf of the National Business Products Industry.
Sarah, Jeff, Lindsay and Tyler Howard
National Business Products Industry supporters and Industry Challenge leaders
The Howard family has made “giving back” and helping others a family passion. Jeff is an active member of the Boys & Girls Club of Lake County, Illinois; the family just recently returned from a trip to Tanzania to support a school for handicapped kids; and they regularly go on mission trips with their church. So, it was not surprising when they decided that they would leave a family legacy to City of Hope.
Betsy and Jeff Kapor
Fashion & Retail Group supporters and Industry Challenge leaders
Betsy and Jeff Kapor are forever grateful to Jeff’s father, David, for a particular legacy they inherited from him: their commitment to City of Hope. “My dad was one of the early industry supporters of City of Hope, through what today we call the Fashion & Retail Group,” Jeff says. “I remember first fundraising for City of Hope back in 1971, when Art Buchwald received the Spirit of Life Award®.”
Harlan Kirschner
National Professional Salon Industry supporter and Industry Challenge leader
“National Professional Salon Industry support of City of Hope is a 30-year tradition. I’m proud to be part of an industry that has given so much to so many,” says Harlan Kirschner, explaining why he participates in the Industry Challenge to benefit City of Hope.
Bruce and Marielena Merino
Hardware/Homebuilding Industry supporters and Industry Challenge leaders
Bruce Merino is a native Californian, but for many years he was bicoastal, commuting between his home on the West Coast and his job as an executive with The Home Depot in Atlanta. His career in the hardware industry started after college, working for Handyman of California. Merino joined The Home Depot in 1984, when the company had only 16 stores nationwide. By the time he retired in 2009 as president of the Western Division, he was leading 440 stores and 70,000 associates across nine states.
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