By Julie Bonnell, vice president operations, for the Tradition of Giving blog series

Working behind the scenes to ensure others meet their goals is something HRG team members do daily to support our clients, so it makes sense that we would also choose to do this as part of how we give back to the community. A great example of this is our yearly support of the Scenic Shore 150, an important fund raising event for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

The mission of LLS is to: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. A few other key facts to note from their website:

• Approximately every three minutes one person in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer.
• Leukemia causes almost one-third of all cancer deaths in children and adolescents younger than 15 years old.
• There are more than 20,000 Wisconsin residents living with blood cancer.
• In 2018, it is estimated that 3,490 Wisconsin residents were diagnosed with a blood cancer.

HRG has been supporting this cause for many years because we had coworkers whose family members had been impacted, but last year it hit even closer to home – one of our own, Gail Konrath, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and went through treatment to beat it.  Gail is a member of the owners group and her leadership role brings her into contact with many in the company. Throughout her treatment she was an inspiration, and everyone wanted to support her and her family in some way.

Coordination of this annual race is a huge undertaking – over the years that HRG has been involved, there have been more than 1,200 riders each year signed up for the two-day ride starting in Milwaukee with an overnight rest stop before finishing in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. We have sponsored team members participating in the event; however, the most consistent portion of our support has been assembly of the packets for the riders.

Each rider receives a unique set of tags & bibs for their bikes, jerseys, and helmets, as well as critical course information. The coordination and assembly time is spread throughout the week with people stepping away from their desks during the work day or staying after hours to put a few packets together. Like many of our volunteer activities, it’s a chance to get to know each other a little differently and feel we are contributing to something that makes a difference. There is always laughter around the assembly table and great stories to share.

This year will be no different, Mark from LLS has already been in touch and we have answered with an “Of course we are on board, and ready to help.”  I am so proud of the commitment here year after year.