In The Spotlight

In The Spotlight

Passion for the Mission
One Man Is Making A Difference for All of Us

One person can make a difference. Nowhere is that more evident than with the story of Skate4SPOHNC, which began in Dallas, Texas, as a day-long inline skating marathon to raise awareness of oral and head and neck cancer. On September 19, 2010, a new Skate4SPOHNC relay will take place, this time in honor of recently retired SPOHNC Founder Nancy Leupold.

In the late-2000s, Rick Agee, a tongue cancer survivor of two recurrences, wanted to enhance support for his local Mid-Cities chapter of Support for People With Head and Neck Cancer (SPOHNC). He decided to personally raise awareness by doing something he enjoyed—inline skating for fitness.

On September 20, 2009, Agee spent a grueling 7 hours circling the tracks at Richardson Grove Park for more than 60 miles (100 kilometers) on his skates. Throughout the day, friends skated, biked, ran, or walked with him, many donating to the effort. He raised $14,000 to fight our cancers. That first year, nearly 300 of Agee’s friends, family, chapter members, and patients watched as he skated the course. A wonderful spirit prevailed at the track and in the marquees that dotted the field.

While he circled the tracks those hours, he thought about what events could take place in the future. He envisioned that Skate4SPOHNC in 2010 would continue raising awareness of oral and head and neck cancer. Months later he pulled together a small committee to plan the second event, this time dedicated to SPOHNC Founder and President Nancy Leupold. Click here to make a donation to Rick’s efforts to honor Leupold’s legacy and to support SPOHNC’s outreach programs.