Pancreatic cancer fundraiser to celebrate Randy Pausch

Eighth annual Seena Magowitz golf event set for Saturday

David Perry -- Furniture Today, December 1, 2010

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Pancreatic cancer victim Randy Pausch's optimistic spirit will be celebrated at the eighth annual Seena Magowitz Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic, set here for Dec. 4 at the Talking Stick Golf Club.

That spirit will be reflected in themes as varied as "Winnie the Pooh" and "Star Trek," two favorites of Pausch, the 47-year-old Carnegie Mellon computer science professor who died of pancreatic cancer in 2008. His insights on life are captured in "The Last Lecture," a best-selling book and a popular feature on the Internet.

Borrowing a page from the children's classic, "Winnie the Pooh," Pausch said he believed people were either Eeyores (pessimistic, gloomy, always looking at the dark side) or Tiggers (upbeat, bouncy, looking for adventure and the good in things).

At the luncheon that is a highlight of the fundraising event, Tiggers will be placed on every luncheon table. Pausch's "Star Trek" uniform will be auctioned at the annual Magowitz Foundation fundraiser for pancreatic cancer research.

Pausch's boyhood dream of being Captain Kirk brought him a three-second cameo role in the 2009 hit movie, "Star Trek," where he plays a character on the bridge of the starship Kelvin. And he has a line in the movie: "Captain, we have visual."

The Magowitz event has raised nearly $750,000 for research at the Translational Genomic Research Institute, where scientists investigate the genetic origins of pancreatic cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer death.

"We decided we would have a Tigger at every table to show we are positive and support innovative research," said Scottsdale resident Roger Magowitz, chairman of the foundation named in honor of his mother, whom he lost to pancreatic cancer in 2001. Magowitz is president of Virginia Beach, Va.-based Mattress Discounters.

The 40 stuffed Tiggers were purchased by Houston-based Mattress Firm, one of several mattress companies - including Serta, Sealy, Simmons, Tempur-Pedic, Protect-A-Bed, Leggett & Platt, International Bedding, Anatomic Global, and Glideaway - that have adopted pancreatic cancer research as a cause.

Mattress Firm will donate the Tiggers to the Arizona Assn. for Foster and Adoptive Parents as part of its annual toy drive to provide Christmas gifts for the more than 10,000 children in Arizona's foster care system.

Jai Pausch, the widow of Randy and a national spokesperson for pancreatic cancer research, donated her late husband's "Star Trek" uniform. She is the Golf Classic's honorary chairperson.

Also up for auction are a German shepherd puppy donated by Lifestyle K9; a $10,000 ocean cruise donated by Active International; a vacation for up to eight people at the Villa at Mango Falls, Montserrat, donated by Phil and Ingrid McCarty; and a $3,000 diamond drop necklace with a black Tahitian pearl donated by Garo of Demirjian Jewelry Design.

A special guest at this year's event will be Derrick Hall, president of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Daniel Von Hoff, TGen's physician-in-chief and one of the world's foremost authorities on pancreatic cancer.

A welcome dinner and show featuring Beatle Mania, a Beatles tribute band, is planned for Dec. 3 at the Talking Stick Resort.

For more information about the Seena Magowitz Foundation go online to www.seenamagowitzfoundation.org or contact Liz McBeth at (757) 773-3622 or liz@seenamagowitzfoundation.org.