Sandy and
Bo Jessop
work on the
pierogis.
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This year, race volunteers have
tapped Jessop's enthusiasm, teaching
and organizational skills for an even
bigger role. She's co-chairing the com-
mittee for the 400 teams (15,000 indi-
viduals) who participate in the race
and she's building a new fundraising
component for them.
Race team co-chair Jan Tebelman
of Sterling Heights describes Jessop as
"not shy and she always gives 110 per-
cent. She always does a fabulous job."
"We started a Go Team this year,"
Tebelman says of the team captains
who raise the most funds each year.
She says Jessop "just took off with it.
She's wonderful at getting people to
open up and get enthused and to get
focused." Jessop and Tebelman are tak-
ing the Go Team's suggestions to other
team captains in advance of the race.
Jessop also is publishing a cookbook
of recipes from race volunteers as a
fundraiser.
The Race for the Cure, now in its
16th year in the Detroit area, annu-
ally draws 30,000 participants.
Registration fees and fundraising for
the Detroit race and walk have gained
$11 million over the years for breast
cancer research. For the last few years,
the 3.2-mile (5 kilometer) event has
been run along Woodward Avenue,
starting at Comerica Park and end-
ing there after a loop near the Detroit
Medical Center.
Just as the race has grown, so has
Jessop's involvement "and I love every
minute of it:' she says. "I do it for self-
ish reasons — I get so much joy out
of it."
Her personal fundraising events for
the race include an annual "Bunko for
Boobs" event with friends who play
the card game, as well as a labor of
love performed by her husband, Bo, a
sales representative and amateur cook.
Bo Jessop adores pierogis and con-
siders himself quite a master at mak-
ing the hand-rolled delicacies. So the
Jessops made pierogis 12 dozen at a
time — a three hour project — and
froze the finished product. In all, the
family made more than 200 dozen and
sold them to friends and co-workers.
The project led to a $1,500 contribu-
tion to Race for the Cure.
Sandy Jessop collects her race pins
and race bibs (showing entrant num-
ber) and hangs them on a wall in her
closet. "It reminds me of how fortu-
nate I am."
She gives a bit of advice for anyone
with a health issue: "Don't find the
best doctor. Find the best doctor for
you. It makes a huge difference that
you trust your doctor" and have a rap-
port with your doctor.
And, according to her friend Jan
Tebelman, Jessop "is so inspiring. Her
motto is, `You have to laugh at least 40
times a day!" I 1
Race Registration
To register for the Saturday
morning, June 16 event at
Comerica Park, go to
www.karmanos.org/
detroitraceforthecure.
THE MERLE AND SHIRLEY HARRIS
BIRTHING CENTER AT
HURON VALLEY-SINAI HOSPITAL
• Beautiful, all private birthing suites, for labor, delivery,
recovery and postpartum (LDRP) care
• Anesthesiologists available 24 hours a day
• Complete-care nursery including full-time neonatology
service for infants with special needs
• High-risk pregnancy, infertility and genetics services*
EXPECT THE BEST To schedule a tour of the Merle and
Shirley Harris Birthing Center at Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, call
(248) 937 5120. To schedule an appointment with one of our
physicians, call (888) DMC-2500.
–
-
DMC
Huron Valley-Sinai
Hospital
*All in conjunction with Hutzel Women's Hospital.
1 William Carls Drive • Commerce, Michigan
248-937-3300 • www.hvsh.org
At Commerce & Commerce in Commerce
April 26 • 2007
31