By Marshall Emsley
At Tour de Cure on June 11, 2011, we saw the power of the human spirit as Michael Downey conquered the 100 mile route in an astonishing 4:42.07. We shared our stories and forged new friendships like Brett Kassing our Chair of the Organizing committee who’s commitment to improve the lives of 177,000 Utahns living with diabetes. We saw strength in our movement to stop diabetes as David Schiff climbed Faust Valley Road on the 100 mile route multiple times to encouraged others to press forward. Then he descended at a top speed of 49.4 MPH! We witnessed the impact teamwork makes as Team SelectHealth’s 255 riders raised $83,950 making it the largest single-site team participating in Tour de Cure nationally.
Let’s recognize our largest Friends and Family teams – BadAss Coffee’s 103 riders raised $60,810 and Team Red’s 77 riders raised $33,070. Our outstanding individuals are Ken Schaecher raising $14,550 and captaining Team SelectHealth, Joe Kalodimos raising $10,045, and the Willie Blocker Family (Linda, Willie Ray, John, Laura and Hannah) raising $40,000! Special thanks to our sponsors who work year-round to make Tour de Cure a success: Larry H. Miller Dealerships, SelectHealth, Jason’s Deli, Questar, Nate Wade Subaru, Intermountain Healthcare, IM Flash Technologies, Pfizer Primary Care, Pacific Steel and Raleigh Bicycles.
We are still processing donations from the event, but in total 1,562 riders registered, 237 people volunteered and 110 teams have currently banked $483,897 with additional donations accepted through July 8th at diabetes.org/tour. Tour de Cure is not over until we Stop Diabetes. Save the date for June 10, 2012.
