Las Vegas community leaders are rocking shades of pink in the fifth annual Real Men Wear Pink campaign; and while they are competitive by nature, they are allied in their shared fight against breast cancer. To date nearly 30 civic and business leaders have pledged their support and combined they have amassed over $100,000 toward their goal of $175,000 to fund a future free from breast cancer.
Jonathon Jossel, CEO of Plaza Hotel & Casino is among the newer members of this elite group. He is also one of the fastest to reach, then surpass, his personal fundraising goal. Jossel is a hard charging executive who first set a $10,000 fundraising goal then shortly exceeded that by nearly two thousand dollars. And he continues to build on that sum to save more lives.
“I know that breast cancer affects everyone – it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, young or old. I personally have known too many people affected by cancer, including friends and coworkers and even my own mother,” offered Jossel.
“That’s why I’m stepping up to fight breast cancer with all I have. Since I’m able to make a difference within my community, I believe I have an obligation to do so. By raising money and awareness through Real Men Wear Pink, I’m helping to save more lives from breast cancer. I believe we all can do something, donate, volunteer – it takes the whole community to make a difference, and I am proud to be alongside these other Real Men who are out there making change, positive change, happen.”
Across town, another Real Men ambassador has put his construction industry savvy to work on job sites; in addition to raising significant sums -his company is adding a colorful flair to the campaign by wrapping their trucks in pink.
Guy Martin, President of Martin-Harris Construction, and his firm are putting their creativity and passion to the test. “At Martin-Harris we pursue excellence in every project, and I cannot think of a more important community project than defeating breast cancer,” offered Martin. “We have seen the leaders of this campaign and know we have our work cut out for us, but the cause is just, and our community deserves our best efforts,” said Martin.
Visit the Real Men Wear Pink site for a full roster of the local leaders. Each Real Men Wear Pink participant accepts a fundraising challenge and will compete to be the top fundraiser among his peers by the end of the campaign.
According to the American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures, an estimated 276,00 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and an estimated 40,920 will die from the disease this year. In Nevada, over 2,300 women will be diagnosed this year, and 400 will die from the disease. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, and it is the most common cancer diagnosed in women other than skin cancer.
