MINNEAPOLIS, March 28, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Colon Cancer Coalition / Get Your Rear in Gear is honored to welcome Randy Lopez to the Board of Directors. Randy is a stage IV colon cancer survivor and joins the Colon Cancer Coalition to help guide marketing efforts both for the organization and Get Your Rear in Gear events. Diagnosed at the age of 35, he has participated in various publications and national programs about his survivorship including a campaign for M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Orlando, Florida and other outlets. Randy has been fortunate to work with other Colon Cancer organizations including his past role as Board Member for the Colon Cancer Alliance and spokesperson for their "Roots of Support" Campaign along with Olympic Champion Dara Torres. He regularly appears as a motivational speaker, using humor to speak to those who might not normally want to hear about cancer awareness. Randy was featured in the CNN special presentation, Surviving Cancer, hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Lance Armstrong.
Professionally, Randy is a highly regarded marketing strategist and brand builder, having held Senior Executive marketing and advertising positions in various organizations including Buca di Beppo, TGI Fridays, Arnold Palmer Golf Management and Del Taco. Currently, he oversees marketing strategies and accounts for Johnson Gray, a full-service advertising agency in Irvine, California. "We are very excited to welcome Randy to the team," says Kristin Tabor, President and Founder of the Colon Cancer Coalition. "With his marketing guidance and first hand experience, we can raise efforts to bring about more awareness of colon cancer and show that together, we can take action."
Since the beginning of the organization in 2005, the Colon Cancer Coalition has relied on volunteers and minimal staff to accomplish the mission of promoting education and early detection of colon cancer. The Colon Cancer Coalition has expanded with over 40 road race events in 23 states, adding three paid staff throughout 2011 and recruiting the first new board member since the organization's inception.
The Colon Cancer Coalition relies 100% on volunteers for the planning and execution of the 40 signature Get Your Rear in Gear races across the country.
Seventy-five percent of the net proceeds from each event go back into the local community to fund colon cancer support, education, prevention, and screening programs. The money is designated by the local volunteer committee to make the biggest impact for their area. For more information, visit GetYourRearinGear.com.
Get Your Rear in Gear events are presented nationally by the Colon Cancer Coalition, a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, and are 100% volunteer-driven in communities throughout the United States. To date the Colon Cancer Coalition has distributed nearly $1.25 million back into local communities for colon cancer education, prevention, and screening. By making the words colon, colorectal and colonoscopy a part of the everyday language, we believe we can overcome the fear and decrease deaths from this largely preventable cancer. A history of the organization, upcoming events, and a list of programs receiving funding from the Colon Cancer Coalition can be found on the website.
The Get Your Rear in Gear logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11862
A file accompanying this release is available at: http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/19272/file/13094.jpg
