Cattle Barons' Ball

The American Cancer Society is pleased to announce that Lightning Chairman and Governor, Jeff Vinik and his wife Penny, will serve as the honorary chairmen of the American Cancer Society’s Cattle Barons’ Ball for 2012. As honorary chairs, the Viniks will host one of Tampa’s premier charity events on Friday, April 20, 2012 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, home of the Lightning. The 2012 Cattle Barons’ Ball will also feature one of the hottest country performers around, Jo Dee Messina. With over five million albums sold, nine #1 singles, two Grammy nominations in addition to awards by the CMA and ACM, Jo Dee will bring her star power to the stage and help make this a night to remember. 

A Tampa Tradition for 15 years, this year’s Cattle Barons’ Ball, themed Marshals and Mavericks, features gourmet western chow, live and silent auctions, dancing and the famous Bull Races. “Penny and I, along with the Tampa Bay Lightning family, are pleased and proud to partner with the American Cancer Society on this great event,” said Jeff Vinik. “As we continue to develop our home in Tampa Bay, we look forward to supporting local treasures like the Cattle Barons’ Ball and its mission to raise funds for the elimination of cancer as a major health concern.”
All proceeds from the Cattle Barons’ Ball benefit the programs and services of the American Cancer Society and more than .80 cents on every dollar donated goes towards funding the American Cancer Society Mission. In 2011, the Cattle Barons’ Ball netted over $470,000 from members of the Tampa Bay community.

Mission:
The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community- based voluntary health organization, dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.

The American Cancer Society donates more money to cancer research than any other private, not-for-profit, non-governmental funder of cancer research in the United States. American Cancer Society has funded 44 Nobel Prize winners.

Programs:
R.O.C.K. Camp – Cancer can make children feel different from other children, and that may be one of the disease’s worst side effects of all. That’s what makes R.O.C.K. Camp so special. At R.O.C.K. Camp, kids with cancer can just be kids again. Everyone fits in, thanks to caring counselors and medical providers, as well as the spectacular setting and facilities of Camp Boggy Creek.

Camp Boggy Creek also has a state-of-the-art medical center. Since 1976, R.O.C.K. Camp has been supported by oncologists and nurses who provide 24-hour medical care in a friendly and relaxed setting. Campers must be age seven through 16, in active cancer treatment or within three years post-treatment, and referred by a pediatric oncologist.

Benjamin Mendick Hope Lodge – Fully funded by donations to the American Cancer Society, the American Cancer Society Benjamin Mendick Hope Lodge is a short-term residential facility designed to offer housing, counseling and referral services free of charge to any cancer patient who travels to the Tampa Bay area for treatment. Located next to the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center on the campus of the University of South Florida, the. facility includes 40 suites with private baths, community dining areas, six kitchens, a family room, laundry rooms, a library with computer access and recreational areas. The fourth floor of the Mendick Hope Lodge is reserved for bone-marrow transplant patients who have special needs. In addition, the facility features a Day Center for outpatients and their families who need a respite from the clinical hospital environment as well as a Patient Services Center where patients can access various American Cancer Society programs and services.

In addition, The American Cancer Society provides patient services, transportation, and support groups. In Florida, there are more than 30 offices and over 100,000 volunteers involved in American Cancer Society programs and activities. For more information, call the American Cancer Society Cattle Barons’ Ball office at
813-319-5904.