Message from the President
I established The Kelly Heinz-Grundner Brain Tumor Foundation (KHG) in September of 2005 as a tribute to my beloved wife and best friend, Kelly, who died of a malignant brain tumor at the age of 31. My goal in starting KHG was to play a significant role in changing the course of this disease. Specifically, I wanted to do the one thing that no one else in the brain tumor community had done effectively to date – raise awareness and educate the public and medical professionals about the facts, symptoms and proper diagnosis techniques.
While research is incredibly important and, ultimately, the long-term key to success, I know there is a lot that can be gained from a properly designed and well-executed awareness campaign. Most importantly, we can help those who are unfortunately stricken by the disease to get diagnosed faster and, in turn, give them a better chance at an improved outcome. In some cases, we may even help to save someone’s life. In addition, we can help to bring more people into the fight. This is critically important because there is so much work still to do.
With that in mind, we officially launched the "Get Your Head In The Game®" Brain Tumor Awareness Movement in 2008. There are several key components to the Movement, including a general awareness campaign for the public, a medical education training program for physicians and nurses and a collaborative brain tumor awareness alliance. However, one of the most important components is our "Get Your Head In The Game®" Brain Tumor Awareness Walk.
This year is our Second Annual Event and we have our sights set on building upon the success of last year’s inaugural event. Not only in terms of the number of event participants, but also in terms of the amount of fun the event delivers! There will be really great food, exciting activities for the kids, a live musical performance by The Phobiacs and, of course, lots of amazing people – including our two talented and inspirational co-hosts, Chris Stein and Jackie Pilla.
In closing, I would like to thank you in advance for joining us at our Second Annual "Get Your Head In The Game®" Brain Tumor Awareness Walk. Please know that by participating in this event you are making a strong statement against this terribly dark disease. We have a lot of work to do to attain our goal of bringing brain tumors into the national spotlight and changing the course of this disease for future generations. However, with your support at this walk, we will be taking some very important steps together.
Thanks again and see you on May 2nd!
Truly,
Chris Grundner
President and Executive Director