My journey with the Susan G. Komen Foundation began in 1985 when my 45-year-old mom was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. This disease slowly and painfully took her life in 1991. She told me to always take charge of my health and gave me The Race is Run, One Step at a Time by Nancy Brinker, Susan Komen's sister.

After participating in many "Walk for the Cure" events, including walking and crewing on the 3-Day Walk, we started a subset of the Komen walk in our neighborhood. This was inspired by our friend Linda Monson, who was the first of my friends in the neighborhood to be diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2010, we held our first Willow Creek Walk for the Cure and are proud to continue raising thousands of dollars each year to support people in Colorado with breast cancer and fund research to cure breast cancer.