Thursday, October 13, 2011
NASCAR Team Owner to Serve as Honorary Co-chair for Light the Night Walk
Charlotte, N.C. – Rick Hendrick, owner of NASCAR’s Hendrick Motorsports and chairman of Charlotte-based Hendrick Automotive Group, will be joining Presbyterian Healthcare President and CEO Mark Billings as honorary co-chair for the 2011 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Light the Night Walk. Together, Hendrick and Billings hope to help LLS raise more than $286,000 for this year’s campaign.
The walk, held annually in cities across the country, will take place in Charlotte on October 22 in SouthPark. Light the Night is the largest organized walk for blood cancer and is the major fundraiser to support LLS’s mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. In his role, Hendrick, who was diagnosed in November 1996 with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), is committed to spreading awareness of the walk and the tremendous need for research dollars to improve treatments and provide support to patients.
“There’s such an incredible team -- the organizers, volunteers and walkers -- dedicated to making this event successful,” said Hendrick, who has been in full remission from CML since December 1999. “It’s a group that’s truly focused on making an impact, and I’m honored to be associated with what they’re doing. We’re all looking forward to a great evening and hope others will consider joining us.”
Billings echoes Hendrick’s remarks. “Thanks to LLS, we’ve come a long way when it comes to blood cancer outcomes,” he stated. “However, there’s still a lot of work to be done. With the support of Rick Hendrick and the entire Presbyterian Healthcare team, I know we’re going to make an impact on this disease.”
For more information about LLS, visit www.lls.org. To register to walk, visit www.lightthenight.org/nc
