Magowitz tourney nets $160K to fight pancreatic cancer
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, December 18, 2005
Phoenix — The third Seena Magowitz Golf Classic here, backed by leading bedding retailers, producers and suppliers, raised more than $160,000 to help fight pancreatic cancer. It also raised awareness of a disease the home furnishings industry is rallying to defeat.
Held under blue skies on a mild autumn day at Stonecreek Golf Club, the event expanded its base of supporters this year to include a number of home furnishings companies.
The hosts, who included Ray Bojanowski of Metropolitan Mattress here and Roger Magowitz of Mattress Discounters in Virginia Beach, Va., said they hope to further broaden industry participation in the fight against deadly pancreatic cancer, an "underdog" cancer that suffers from low research funding.
The event was launched by bedding veteran Magowitz, who lost his mother, Seena, to pancreatic cancer four years ago. Support for the golf tournament has grown each year.
Sponsors this year included Sealy, Simmons, IBC, Tempur-Pedic, Protect-A-Bed, Leggett & Platt, Wesley Allen and bedding veteran Wally Teitelbaum.
This year's tournament, attended by more than 180 people, included inspiring messages from pancreatic cancer survivors, as well as from those who have lost loved ones to the disease, which has a 99% mortality rate, the highest of any cancer.
Jayson Friedman, the son of longtime Carls Furniture executive Fred Friedman, said he was fulfilling a commitment his father made to support the event.
Recalling his father's courageous battle against pancreatic cancer, Friedman said, "This is a battle we need to fight and we need to win. My father was totally committed to this cause. He fought this to the end. He was the rock of our family to his final breath."
The elder Friedman died in October at age 62.
Also speaking was veteran Flexsteel executive Bruce Lauritsen, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer more than a year ago.
When he learned about the Seena Magowitz Golf Tournament earlier this year, he thought, "I've got to do something about this and get involved," he told the group. "Maybe we can broaden this journey into the furniture industry."
Lauritsen said he is taking an aggressive approach to fighting the disease and maintains a positive attitude. "I'm looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with my family," he said.
Retailer Carls Furniture of Coconut Creek, Fla., and Flexsteel also served as hosts of this year's event.
A featured speaker was Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, senior investigator and head of translational research at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix, and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Arizona. He is a specialist in the development of new anticancer agents in the clinic and the laboratory.
In the past year, he said, there have been "some small, but real advances" in the research and treatment of pancreatic cancer. These advances have given pancreatic cancer patients "a couple of extra weeks" to enjoy life, and also have sparked additional research efforts, Von Hoff said.
The "dollars, enthusiasm and caring" of those supporting the Seena Magowitz Golf Classic are vital in the battle against pancreatic cancer, he said.
"This disease will fall," Von Hoff vowed. "It will be conquered. Let's do it before we lose 100 people a day to this disease."
In addition to the support of its major sponsors, a number of other bedding producers also backed the event. They included Comfort Solutions by King Koil, Serta, Spring Air, Land and Sky, Boyd Specialty Sleep, Aireloom and Comfor-Pedic.
"Our goal is to unify the industry around a single cause," said Bojanowski, who operates 25 Metropolitan Mattress stores in the Phoenix market. "Competition aside, a cause is a cause."
Also attending the event was Angela Johnson, director of community outreach and affiliate relations for PanCan, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, based in El Segundo, Calif.
She said the golf tournament is the most successful community fund-raising event for the cause outside PanCan's home base in Los Angeles.
Building grassroots support is critical to boosting funding for pancreatic cancer research, Johnson said. "Science follows money," she said. "Money comes from passionate individuals who have been affected, like Roger and Jayson. Their friends know about this. That's the driving force."
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