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Golf tourney to fight pancreatic cancer set for Dec. 5

Wife of ‘Last Lecture' author named honorary chair

David Perry -- Furniture Today, October 23, 2009

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Jai Pausch, whose husband Randy became a best-selling author as he fought pancreatic cancer, will be the honorary chairman of the Seena Magowitz Celebrity Golf Classic. The event is set for Dec. 5 at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa here.

Randy Pausch wrote "The Last Lecture" after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer but one that receives relatively little funding for research.

Roger Magowitz, president of the Seena Magowitz Celebrity Golf Classic, was hoping that Randy Pausch could attend last year's event, but the college professor succumbed to pancreatic cancer earlier in the year.

Now Jai Pausch is taking up her husband's crusade. "I ask that you join Roger Magowitz, Ray Bojanowski and me at this year's Seena Magowitz Celebrity Golf Classic on the weekend of Dec. 5 and to add your voice to our chorus who are speaking out to create a more hopeful tomorrow," she wrote in an invitation to the home furnishings industry.

She noted that her husband "raised his voice about the dire situation facing pancreatic cancer patients." Pancreatic cancer has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers; 95% of patients die within five years.

That disease claimed Magowitz's mother, Seena, and led the president of Mattress Discounters in Virginia Beach, Va., to join bedding retail veteran Ray Bojanowski to found the Seena Magowitz Golf Classic.

The event has attracted a broad base of mattress industry supporters. Bedding sponsors this year include Protect-A-Bed, Symbol, Tempur-Pedic, Sealy, International Bedding, Therapedic, Leggett & Platt, Englander, Kingsdown, Latex International, Comfort Solutions, Simmons, Serta, Knickerbocker, FabricTech and Aireloom. Retailers Mattress Firm, Room Store, Art Van, Better Bedding and Carls Patio are also supporters, in addition to a number of other companies.

This year's event begins on Friday, Dec. 4 with a new feature, Casino Night. A dinner honors major sponsors, with entertainment provided by jazz artist Jesse McGuire.

The celebrity golf classic begins at 8:30 next morning. It is followed by the awards luncheon at 2 p.m. Keynote speaker Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, a leading pancreatic cancer researcher, and Jai Pausch will thank the participants.

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