Aden Holt is a recognized entrepreneur in the music industry. After graduating the University of North Texas with a Graphic Design degree in the early nineties, Aden moved into downtown Dallas where he started two companies: One Ton Records and One Ton Graphics. He would go on to release nationally distributed CDs by popular Dallas area rock bands and deliver creative design for such bands as The Goo Goo Dolls, The Toadies, Jimmy Eat World and The Flaming Lips. On top of that, Aden spent much of the nineties fronting his own punk band and touring the country, playing dive bars, and sleeping in the van. In 2001, Aden closed One Ton Records and started another concept called Buzz-Oven which was recognized on a 2006 cover of Business Week as a leading concept in teen social networking. Later that year, Aden was featured on the cover of Dallas Business Journal as one of the “Top 40 under 40″ rising stars in business. Currently, Aden continues to design in both print and web for clients like Coca-Cola and Neiman Marcus while keeping hundreds of clients in the music industry.

As a teen in Little Rock, AR, Aden grew up in a house with his parents, brother, and great grandmother Inez (affectionately called “Mee-Maw”). Aden’s close relationship with his Mee-Maw was threatened when she was diagnosed with colon cancer while in her early 80’s. Supported by her entire family (3 kids, 6 granddaughters, and 12 great grandkids), Mee-Maw fought the disease and ultimately beat it with surgery and her “never give up” spirit. Mee-Maw continued to be a loving force for all of her enormous family until she passed only weeks after her 100th birthday. Aden’s grandmother on his father’s side was also diagnosed with colon cancer and survived with successful surgery for another 10 years before she finally succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease at age 87.

While Aden has always had an affinity with music, his other passion has always been the mountains. Being an avid snowboarder since he was a teen, and more recently completing several triathlons during the summer months, Aden’s interest was peaked (no pun intended) when James Chippendale came to him with the concept of Love Hope Strength and Everest Rocks. He immediately jumped on board, designing the foundation’s logo and website. Now, he couldn’t be more excited to be involved in such a great cause for physical wellness while having the opportunity to climb to the base camp of Mt. Everest with a handful of his teen rockstar idols including Mr. Mike Peters.

Vincent Abrue was born into a military family and spent his most influential years traveling the globe. His trek took him to Indiana, Alaska, Colorado, South Korea, and Germany. After living in Baumholder, Germany for four years, Vincent moved to Boulder, Colorado to attend the University of Colorado. Vincent has been in the banking and financial services industry for over 9 years. Vincent is currently a Vice President and Business Development Officer for Wells Fargo Bank’s Business Banking unit in Denver, Colorado. Previous to joining Wells Fargo, Vincent was a Relationship Manager for U.S Bank and a Marketing Director for a commercial brokerage, U.S. Financial. Vincent currently serves on an advisory board for the When I Grow Up Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides career experiences for Colorado kids through one-on-one interaction with volunteer professionals at their place of work.

Vincent is a strong advocate for the fight against cancer and advancing the quality of life of patients and their families. Vincent was recently affected when a close friend announced last year she was diagnosed with breast cancer for a third time. Her strength and determination to beat cancer three times inspired Vincent that the impossible is possible. Vincent recently co-founded the Denver chapter of The Ryan Gibson Foundation, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to finding a cure for Leukemia. He is thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of a dedicated team in search for a cure.

Sean Moore comes from a large extended family in the Minneapolis, MN area, several of whom have been directly affected by cancer. Sean’s uncle, Dan, beat Hodgkins Disease in 1971, and his grandmother, Laura, fought and survived cancer of the lymph nodes in the early 1990’s. His uncle, Ron, was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2000 and fought the disease for two years before it took his life on Thanksgiving Day, 2002. Sean’s college friend and fraternity brother, Ryan Gibson, was diagnosed with Leukemia during their sophomore year of college, endured lengthy treatment, experienced a brief remission, but died from the disease in 2001. Sean has recently brought a new chapter of The Ryan Gibson Foundation to Denver, Colorado, a growing organization that is dedicated solely to raising awareness and funding for Leukemia and cancer research.

Sean is a Consulting Manager for The North Highland Company, and advises his clients on corporate strategy, process improvement, change management, and organizational alignment initiatives. Prior to joining The North Highland Company, Sean was a Senior Associate with Price Waterhouse Coopers and a Senior Consultant with Ernst & Young Management Consulting, LLP. Sean received his BBA in Finance and Management Information Systems from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and currently resides in Denver, CO. Sean has lived and worked in Asia, Europe, and South America, traveling to over 30 countries in his quest for knowledge of other cultures and languages. The cause and adventure encompassing the Everest Rocks event could not be more appropriate for Sean.

Rini Andres was born in Paris, France and raised in Texas. After spending time at the University of New Mexico, she fell in love with the mountains. Her degree in Communications from the University of Texas in Austin led to a twenty year career in marketing and advertising, including both advertising agency and corporate positions. She spent almost ten years as the Director of Marketing for PageNet, the nation’s largest paging company and traveled throughout the country and world. Her first big trek was to Machu Pichu in the Andes Mountains of Peru.

After retiring from corporate life, she volunteers with various non-profit organizations.

There have been relatives and friends who have had cancer, but she was most deeply affected by her good friend, James Chippendale, who was diagnosed with leukemia. Jim’s incredible journey to recovery and meeting his bone marrow donor gave credence to the hope and belief that cancer can be overcome. Rini is thrilled to be a part of Everest Rocks and raising money for Jim’s Love, Hope and Strength foundation.

Shannon Foley was born and raised with 2 brothers and 2 sisters just outside Philadelphia, PA. In February, 2001, Shannon’s younger brother, Ryan, was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 23. Later that same year she lost her grandfather to cancer. Ryan was selected to speak on behalf of the 35 grandchildren at his funeral. It was at that moment Shannon saw the unwavering strength of her brother. Thanks to 2 aggressive surgeries and chemotherapy, Ryan has successfully beaten cancer, received his MBA and is living in Houston, TX (way too far from his sister!).

Shannon is currently the Executive Director of Love Hope Strength. Prior to joining LHS, Shannon was General Manager of Denver’s Jet Hotel, Manager of Marketing, Events and Corporate Sales for Public House Ltd and Director of Brand Identity for the accounting firm, Grant Thornton. In 2002, Shannon moved to Kenya for an independent brand development project with Tradition Safaris for whom she also currently works with as a safari consultant. Shannon received her BS in Marketing from Boston College. She currently resides in Denver, CO with her youngest sister.

As a former fitness competitor, Christine Alan exemplifies a healthy and fit lifestyle, proving that cancer has no boundaries. She is a married mother of two, who got the surprise of a lifetime in the summer of 2006.

During a routine office examination, Christine’s Obstetrician/ Gynecologist discovered a lump in her one of her breasts, prompting a tidal wave of tests ultimately confirming a diagnosis of breast cancer. The cancerous mass was quickly removed via partial mastectomy. She than began an exhausting regimen of chemotherapy and radiation, due the large size, advanced stage, and aggressive characteristics of the tumor.

Never accepting for one minute the possibility of a death sentence, Christine maintains a positive attitude and continues to work in her profession of 18 years as a Managing Partner for Kaye/Bassman International Corp., a search firm she joined in 1989 after graduating from The University of Texas at Austin.

Christine is an advocate of early cancer detection, continuously encouraging family and friends (and anyone who will listen!) to be proactive in their health. She is making the climb up Mt. Everest in celebration of her own battle over cancer, and in honor of fellow breast cancer survivor and good friend, Cindy Ornish.

A self-proclaimed “80s girl” and avid music enthusiast, Love Hope Strength is the perfect charity for Christine to support and show the world that you can climb back from cancer!