IN JUST TEN SHORT WEEKS, NINE OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUALS RAISE $160,000 FOR LIFESAVING CANCER RESEARCH

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Suncoast Chapter Announces Local

"2007 Man & Woman of the Year"

Nine Tampa Bay business professionals raised $160,000 for blood cancer research and patient services. The candidates for this year’s Man & Woman of the Year of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Suncoast Chapter were Malindy Bengston of Malindy Elene Couture of the Bride, St. Petersburg, Matthew Galvin of First Advantage Corporation, Tampa, Joose Hadley of Great Art & Frame Inc, Westchase, Jim Henning of Florida Executive Realty, Tampa, Joseph Kuebel, MD of Tampa Bay Woman’s Care,Clearwater, Jim Marshall of Sandler Sales Institute of Tampa Bay, Clearwater, Matthew McKillen of Preferred Mortgage Services, St. Petersburg, Sandy Papadakis of ReMax Realtec Group, Palm Harbor and Justin Trombetto of FMU Online, Tampa.

The two winners, Jim Henning of Tampa, and Sandy Papadakis of Tarpon Springs, were the top local fundraisers and will now be entered into the national competition for Man & Woman of the Year.

During the ten week fundraising period beginning with a kickoff celebration in March at Fleming’s, the candidates were judged solely on their success in generating funds to advance the Society’s mission. Every dollar raised counts as one “vote.” Jim Henning and Sandy Papadakis were the candidates with the most “votes,” and were awarded the title of 2007 Man & Woman of the Year at a grand finale celebration at Pepin’s Hospitality Centre on May 24, 2007. The candidates competed in honor of the Society’s Boy & Girl of the Year, Mathew Gliddon and Carlee Vessel, local children who are blood cancer survivors and sources of inspiration to others.

“Man & Woman of the Year is a great opportunity for participants to network with other candidates while raising money for a great cause “Candidates gain personal and professional exposure in the Tampa Bay community while they help others.” This years sponsors Tampa Bay Illustrated, Audi and The Palm presented prizes for the winners and runners up.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society^® is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The Society’s mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

CONTACT: Tracy Manning813-963-6461/ manningt@lls.org