Approximately six years ago, I lost my mother, Audrey Melton, very unexpectedly to cancer. We only had about four months with her after her diagnosis, and she passed away in November 2015. Shortly after that, I found myself sitting at a Light The Night Executive Lunch in The Woodlands where my company was a sponsor. The program was inspiring and the energy in the room was electric with these folks who wanted to fight cancer. I filled out a blood drop that said, “Sign me up for the Executive Challenge,” as I thought it would be a great way to honor my mother.
I raised $14,000 that year and felt pretty proud. The next year, I knew more and raised nearly $50,000. The third year, I served as co-chair and raised $114,00, making me fifth in the nation. I continued to sit on the Executive Committee and got to the #3 national spot in 2019. In 2020, I was proud to be the #1 fundraiser in the nation for Light The Night, raising over $258,000. In the last five years, I have raised more than $600,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), and I am now on a mission to make a $1M personal impact.
I couldn’t do it without the great support of our business partners, friends, and family that get behind such a great cause. I also joined the Texas Gulf Coast Board in 2020, which has allowed me to expand my reach beyond just Light The Night – sharing my story with our Man & Woman of The Year candidates and reaching out to superintendents to get our local school districts involved with Hero Squad.
As we move into 2021, I am honored to serve as the Light The Night National Ambassador where I help mentor and encourage our Light The Night chairs across the country, sharing best practices, ideas, and being the ultimate cheerleader! I am so excited to get back out there to Light The Night this fall, and I continue to push toward my goal of having $1M personal fundraising impact in honor of my mom.