We all have moments in our lives that are special. Ones that we will always remember. If you are lucky, they are defining and become part of who you are and what you believe in. But then, you have those rare events that actually change your life.

Mike and Jules Peters, James Chippendale, NJCCC, Wales, Musicfest, Cancer, PSA, Biopsy, Love, Hope, Strength…..these are people and words that came together in my life to form a life altering event. One that has led to a trek to Base Camp Everest to battle Cancer by bringing attention to the benefits of publicly funded stem cell research and treatments.

It all began a little more than a year ago, when I innocently sent an email to the website of my favorite college band, The Alarm, led by Mike Peters. In the ensuing months I found myself emailing back and forth with Mike’s wife Jules as we worked to bring Mike to the Union County Musicfest. Last year’s Musicfest was Union County’s most successful to date, and we were working on ideas to improve the event for 2007. As luck would have it, Mike Peters and James Chippendale were about to announce they were co-founding the Love Hope, Strength Foundation (LHSF) to help build a support network for Cancer patients while we were in Wales for the “Gathering.” Over a couple of beers in Wales, we put together a structure to make Musicfest ’07 a pilot music festival in which LHSF would be a part.

Returning home, we got down to work planning a Walkathon, looking for a local charitable partner and coordinating Musicfest. Simultaneously, on a personal note, I happened to go for my annual physical. Ironically, it was there that my doctor noticed an elevated PSA level in my blood, which could be an indicator of prostate cancer. I was then referred to an urologist for a series of tests which ultimately led to the conclusion I should undergo a biopsy to check for cancer. The only way I could quell my feelings of dread and terror was to reach out to people who had experienced Cancer first hand. By talking to James I learned just how important it is to establish a support network. Although, I had always believed in the partnership between Musicfest and LHSF, it was beginning to take on a new meaning to me.

We decided that the local partner for the walkathon should be New Jersey Citizens Coalition for Cures (NJCCC), the leading statewide, grassroots coalition for the advancement of both embryonic and adult stem cell research in the State of New Jersey, fighting to find cures and treatments for life threatening diseases and debilitating chronic conditions in this state. As federal legislation to help fund embryonic stem cell research makes its way toward President Bush’s desk – and inevitable veto – New Jersey has been the first state to publicly fund a stem cell research lab in the nation.
It was in a New York City taxicab, during the Empire Rocks event, that I turned to my wife and said that I felt a need, an urgency to participate in the trek to Base Camp Everest. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and the cause is pure. Not only does Cancer touch everyone’s life in some form, but the cure for so many of life’s diseases rests in publicly funded stem cell research and our President had let us down. Having spent my career in government and politics, I couldn’t ignore these actions. So it was in that cab ride my life changed.

I only had one small hurdle left: my own health. While I awaited my biopsy and its results, I talked to my closest friends and family about what I wanted to do and why. Regardless of what my biopsy results were, I needed to change my lifestyle. When my doctor called me with the news that the biopsy showed no cancer, I was relieved. However, the impact in my life had already occurred and I called James to sign up for the trek.

To Mike, Jules and James ….thank you for letting me in your lives to help make all of ours a better one. To my wife Angie, thank you for not only accompanying me and understanding me in this journey but also for your undying support. I hope others join with me to help educate and bring about a cure.

At 45, I’m currently the County Manager for Union County. A county government with 3000 employees that serves more than half a million people in 21 municipalities. Born and raised in New Jersey, I live in Berkeley Heights with my wife, Angie and son, Ryan. I have two sons from a previous marriage, George and John.