The Connecticut Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced April 3 that Newtown resident Robert Morey had been selected as town ambassador for the Inaugural Komen Connecticut Race for the Cure, which takes place Saturday, May 11, at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport.

“Re/Max is a large corporate sponsor of Komen,” said Mr Morey, and as regional director for Northern Fairfield County Re/Max Right Choice, he is honored to take on the task of raising awareness in and around his hometown.

“This is Komen’s first Race for the Cure in Connecticut,” said Mr Morey. With Connecticut having the second highest incidence of breast cancer in the country and many of those incidences occurring in Fairfield County, it seems logical to finally have the festival-like event taking place in Fairfield County, he said. The Komen Race for the Cure has been held in Hartford for 20 years, he added, and has become a million-dollar fundraiser for the organization. (The Connecticut Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure is a separate corporation from Komen National, according to literature provided by Connecticut Race for the Cure. After subtracting for operating costs, approximately 14 percent expense ratio, all money donated to Komen Connecticut or Komen Connecticut Race for the Cure is used to fund research and local grants programs.)

“I’m someone who cares a lot about what I do, and I know a lot of people in town,” Mr Morey said, making him an ideal candidate for town ambassador. “I can get the word out to encourage people to participate and to get involved,” he said, using both his professional and personal contacts. “If you layer one private network on another, you reach a lot of people,” he said.

His grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 90s, said Mr Morey, but it was really the experiences of two of his colleagues when he managed the Coldwell Banker branch in Danbury that educated him about breast cancer.

“Seeing what those people went through, physically as well as emotionally, made a tremendous impact on me,” Mr Morey said. “That was really my first personal connection to breast cancer, and it was an education. It had never occurred to me, the extraordinary toll [cancer] takes on patients and family,” he said. “Organizations like Komen raise awareness, provide support, and fund research.”

Because of groups like Komen, there have been advances in medical technology. “Cancer used to be a death sentence. For me, growing up, the face of cancer may have been someone very sick, in bed. But the reality today is that it can be someone sitting across the table from you. Today, the quality and length of life [for cancer patients] has been increased,” said Mr Morey, “due to these efforts.”

The May 11 Connecticut Race for the Cure will include a 5K run, 5 K and 1.5K walks, Kids’ Short Run and Kids’ K, and a Survivor Breakfast, as well as plenty of family-oriented fun activities, he said.

“It all comes back to the cause, though,” said Mr Morey. “The race is a positive thing, but it comes down to recognizing the prevalence of breast cancer in Connecticut. My goal, really, is to put the race on the map and do something local in Fairfield County.”

By raising awareness and supporting the Komen Connecticut Race for the Cure, he hopes that others will recognize that there is a need for a steady flow of funds, so that research can continue. “Awareness creates community and support, emotionally and financially,” Mr Morey said.

For more information, to register, or to donate, visit www.komenct.org.