I ride to support the fight against cancer in honor and in memory of so many family and friends, but especially in honor of Chloe (pictured here) and in memory of my Dad; Adley, our past Ride for a Child angel; Bob Rasche, a loyal and loved employee of MLC; Nikki Leach, my childhood neighbor, friend & mother of two; and Jeremy Newton, an amazing husband, father, police officer & friend. I will honor these six and countless others by riding 52 miles on the MLC & HBM Holdings Team. MLC and HBM Holdings will match every dollar the MLC Team raises for Pedal the Cause. Please consider donating. Every little bit helps fund life saving cancer research right here in St. Louis! 100% of funds raised through this event goes directly to cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and Siteman Kids. Also, Pedal the Cause funds are matched 12 to 1 by additional federal research funding!
For the third year in a row, the MLC team will Ride for a Child named Chloe, a sweet 6th grader and amazing survivor who was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma at the age of 4. She has had countless procedures and treatments ranging from chemotherapy, radiation, tumor resections in her abdomen and her skull, immunotherapy, removal and placement of her stem cells for her bone marrow transplant, injections, and bone marrow biopsies. Chloe is only 12 years old and is my hero. Her mother, Mia, is also my inspiration, and her two older brothers could not be more supportive of both Chloe and their mother.
I will also ride in memory of Adley, our Team's past Ride for a Child honoree who tragically passed away at age 3 after a courageous cancer fight in June of 2021.
I will ride in memory of my father, Jim Blankenship (1945-2014), who passed away after fighting ureterial cancer for 6 years. I cannot personally thank the Siteman Cancer Center team enough for all of their efforts and compassion in helping my Dad fight this terrible disease as long as he did.
I ride for Bob, my MLC co-worker, who lost his courageous battle last year. I ride for Nikki, one of my best friends, who was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer over 6 years ago when she was only 41. Last but certainly not least, I ride for Jeremy, who was taken from us by skin cancer far too soon, but his legacy lives on thru a charity called Go Full Newton, aptly named for how he lived life to the fullest.
Every year, I wish my "why" would get shorter, but unfortunately it's the opposite. Sadly, there are many more who I haven't mentioned by name. Help me ride for #aworldwithoutcancer
