After Recovery
Brett Frankenberg
SVP, Technology, Process & Systems, Coca-Cola Consolidated
Charlotte, North Carolina
Finding Purpose
As a prostate cancer survivor, Brett Frankenberg knows the importance of accessing up-to-date information on reliable treatment and support. With several friends whose children had leukemia, he also saw how a diagnosis can affect an entire family.
“It’s very difficult to process…and it is so critical that there are folks that can be there to help you,” he says.
Three years after his recovery and inspired by his friends’ stories, he got involved with LLS. “We all have to do something to make the world a better place and find a way to make a contribution of your time, talent or treasure.”
His Why
Since joining Light The Night in 2021, Frankenberg continues to recruit his colleagues. Last year, 70 of his coworkers walked alongside him, more than triple those from his first year. To date, Frankenberg has raised over $247,000 through Light The Night to go toward research and advocacy work and linking patients in need with important services. Frankenberg hopes fundraising efforts lead to quick, non-invasive cures without lingering impacts.
Hearing speakers at annual walks motivates Frankenberg to keep going. “It just moves the heart to see a 13-year-old stand up and say, ‘I'm cancer free and thank you,’” he says.
His Impact
Into Action
Turning Grief
Phoenix, Arizona
President, Phoenix Region, The Howard Hughes Corporation
Heath Melton
After his mother passed away from cancer, Heath Melton channeled his grief into action. As an Executive Challenger over the last seven years, first in Houston and now in Phoenix, he’s helped raise $1.5 million for crucial blood cancer research.
“I took my pain, the loss of my mother and turned that into a passion,” says Melton.
His Why
At Melton’s first Light The Night walk, he lifted his illuminated gold lantern in honor of his mother. A moment he’ll never forget: When his daughter turned to him and said, “You know, Grandma would be really proud of you.”
Over the years, he’s served as Montgomery County’s corporate walk chair and on LLS’s Gulf Coast board, sharing his story and inspiring others to contribute. Winning LLS’s Executive Challenge three years in a row and now walking with a few hundred supporters, Melton wants to see a cancer-free future. “What I really hope we can accomplish is that nobody has to hear the words, ‘you have cancer,’” he says. “And if they do, you know there’s a high probability they’re going to have a cure.”
His Impact
Family Values
Service-Oriented
Houston, Texas
SVP, Head of Investments, Howard Hughes Holdings
Andrew Davis
The catalyst behind Andrew Davis’ decision to become an Executive Challenger? Instilling the importance of service in his two young daughters. “I thought it'd be an excellent opportunity to show them that as a family, this is how we're going to interact with the world and set an example,” he says.
Davis has a personal connection to cancer, too. In the 1960s, his grandparents lost a daughter to blood cancer when survival was rare.
“I believe deeply in giving back to our communities and supporting those around us going through tough times,” he says. “Access is one thing a lot of us can take for granted.”
His Why
In 2022, Davis and his supporters raised $156,000 through Light The Night. He received LLS’s Hero Award and was able to choose where to direct the funds. Davis chose LLS’s Dare to Dream Project, which supports kids living with blood cancers through research toward new treatments, healthcare advocacy and targeted support services.
The people he encounters remind him of the importance of his fundraising: At a previous walk, Davis met a five-year-old girl in treatment who was all smiles. “I have a huge soft spot for kids,” he says. “If you can make their situation one percent better, it's one hundred percent worth it.” Davis, last year’s Montgomery County corporate walk chair, is excited to pass the torch to a new chair in 2024.
His Impact
Instilling
Cancer Research
Fueling Critical
Raleigh, North Carolina
President, Commercial Operations, Builders FirstSource
Mike Farmer
As a former head of human resources, Mike Farmer saw firsthand how cancer affects employees and their families. In his personal life, Farmer’s realtor-turned-friend passed away from acute myeloid leukemia. After losing another friend to cancer, he was eager to join Light The Night to make a difference.
“The impact was just devastating to see,” Farmer says. “That made it a lot easier to jump in and help out.”
His Why
During Farmer’s first year as an Executive Challenger eight years ago, he raised $5,500 and walked alongside 10 employees. Last year marked a memorable highlight: He raised $208,000 and walked with hundreds of supporters.
“Light The Night is such a great culture-building experience for a company and brings people together in a way that they wouldn't otherwise,” he says.
Previously serving on the campaign’s executive committee and as a corporate walk chair, he’s now on LLS’s national board. In this role, he’ll continue fundraising efforts to fuel future research. “Ultimately the goal is to cure cancer and get rid of it altogether,” he says. “Continuing to chip away at it through blood cancer research is how we’re going to get there.”
His Impact
Patient Care
Improving
San Diego, California
Chief Executive Officer, Jingoli Power
Karl Miller
Karl Miller is deeply moved by pediatric cancer stories. He’s motivated to continue making an outsized impact on better treatments and cures for children and their families through the Dare to Dream Project and beyond. Miller is delighted to continue realizing a world in which no child needlessly suffers as a result of toxic treatments and outdated medications.
His Why
Miller’s connection to the Light The Night mission has grown every year. In his fourth year as an Executive Challenger, he is serving as a corporate walk chair this fall.
His Impact
Light The Night is like the front door of the organization...There's a place for everybody…whether you are a community organization, you're a friends and family team or you're a major company with tons
of employees and you're trying to engage in something bigger than yourself.”
TIFFANY KIRKLAND
Interim VP, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Interim VP, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
TIFFANY KIRKLAND
Thank you for saving the lives that you saved this year, because truly every dollar they raised went to something that is going to advance an option on the table for the next person that hears those words, ‘You have cancer.’”
A MESSAGE TO THIS YEAR’S EXECUTIVE CHALLENGERS: