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- Posted Thursday January 12, 2017
Seena Magowitz Golf Classic will be held a second year in Boston, raising funds for TGen pancreatic cancer research
Annual event raised $747,000 this past year, supporting the groundbreaking investigations of TGen’s Dr. Daniel Von Hoff
BOSTON - Jan. 12, 2017 - Boston will once again provide the backdrop for the 15th annual Seena Magowitz Golf Classic - a multi-million-dollar fundraising spectacular supporting pancreatic cancer research at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen). This year's event runs from Aug. 26-28, 2017.
Tournament organizer Roger E. Magowitz, founder of the Seena Magowitz Foundation, revealed that Ken Murphy, President and Chief Executive Officer for Mattress Firm, would be the 2017 event's Honorary Chair, and that Derrick Hall, President and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, would be this year's Master of Ceremonies.
The gala fundraising dinner for the Seena Magowitz Foundation - named for Roger Magowitz's mother, who passed away from pancreatic cancer - will again take place at the Boston Harbor Hotel on Aug. 27.
"From the Boston Red Sox to Boston Harbor, everyone had such a wonderful time this past year. Because the Boston community welcomed us with typical New England hospitality we couldn't help but return in 2017," said Magowitz, whose 2016 event included a baseball game at historic Fenway Park, a gala dinner at the Boston Harbor Hotel, and golf at the Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead, Mass., northeast of Boston.
2016 marked the first time the event has taken place in the northeast, a move that proved successful as nearly 300 participants raised $747,000 towards TGen pancreatic cancer research. Major contributors to the 2016 event included: Mattress Firm, Leggett & Platt, Customatic Adjustable Bedz, Protect-A-Bed, Serta Simmons Bedding and Tempur Sealy.
The Golf Classic, which has previously called Phoenix and Orlando home, has raised nearly $8 million for TGen research in its rich history.
"I am excited and honored to serve as Honorary Chair for 2017," said Murphy, whose Mattress Firm organization has helped support TGen research for more than 5 years. "We simply cannot do enough or move fast enough to find better treatments, and some day a cure, for this most aggressive type of cancer."
Hall - who also has served as honorary chair of TGen's annual stepNout Run, Walk, Dash fundraisers, and who has previously served as honorary chair and master of ceremonies for the Seena Magowitz Golf Classic - has a direct link to pancreatic cancer. He lost is father to this disease: "TGen is on the leading edge of helping pancreatic cancer patients, developing new treatments in recent years that are extending the survival of many who previously were without hope."
Karl Glassman, President and CEO of Leggett & Platt, who also has previously served as the Golf Classic's honorary chair, recently pledged to make a substantial contribution to this year's tournament fundraising efforts.
In September, the Seena Magowitz Foundation raised an additional $205,000 towards TGen research at the 7th annual Atlanta Golf Classic, organized by 14-year pancreatic cancer survivor Howard Young, a Board Member of the TGen Foundation and chair of TGen's National Pancreatic Cancer Committee. That event was co-sponsored by Howard Young, John Morley and Randy Dobbs.
Michael Bassoff, President of the TGen Foundation, credited much of the progress that TGen has made in its fight against pancreatic cancer to leaders in the bedding and furniture industries, including past Golf Classic honorary chairmen Steve Stagner and Gary Fazio.
"Thanks to Roger Magowitz, and the leadership of those like Ken Murphy, Derrick Hall and Karl Glassman, the Seena Magowitz Golf Classic is helping TGen to provide answers and hope today to thousands of pancreatic cancer patients," Bassoff said.
Funds raised by the Seena Magowitz Foundation are directed to research and clinical trials led by Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, TGen's Distinguished Professor and Physician-in-Chief, who each year delivers a keynote address at the Seena Magowitz Golf Classic about the progress being made and his vision for the future; to detect pancreatic cancer early and ultimately find a cure.
In 2016, pancreatic cancer claimed the lives of nearly 42,000 Americans, for the first time surpassing breast cancer and making it the third-leading cause of cancer related death in the U.S.
For more information about the Golf Classic, visit www.seenamagowitzfoundation.org. Prospective sponsors, participants and dinner attendees may contact: Roger E. Magowitz at 602-524-7636 or [email protected]; or Liz McBeth, event director, at 757-773-3622 or [email protected].
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About the Seena Magowitz Foundation
The Seena Magowitz Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to advancing the awareness and eventual prevention and cure of pancreatic cancer. The Foundation is dedicated to funding top medical institutions on the leading edge of translational pancreatic cancer research committed to diagnosis, the advancement of life-extending treatment options and the ultimate goal of eradicating this deadly killer. For more information, visit: www.seenamagowitzfoundation.org.
About TGen
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. TGen is focused on helping patients with neurological disorders, cancer, and diabetes, through cutting edge translational research (the process of rapidly moving research towards patient benefit). TGen physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of both common and rare complex diseases in adults and children. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities literally worldwide, TGen makes a substantial contribution to help our patients through efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. TGen is allied with City of Hope, a world-renowned independent research and cancer and diabetes treatment center. This precision medicine alliance enables both institutes to complement each other in research and patient care, with City of Hope providing a significant clinical setting to advance scientific discoveries made by TGen. For more information, visit: www.tgen.org. Follow TGen on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @TGen.
Media Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
