Journey Gala fund raiser for cancer patients headlined by ESPN's Hoge

The Cancer Center in Cape Girardeau was designed to be a place where treatment is seen as a journey to health and a patient's care is guided by a team of caring professionals.

Merril Hoge

Executive director of the SoutheastHEALTH Foundation Patti Ranzini said that sense of journey is the feeling behind the Second annual Journey Gala which will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, at the new Drury Plaza Hotel Cape Girardeau Conference Center.

The gala benefits the SoutheastHEALTH Cancer Care Fund, which Ranzini said goes directly to help cancer patients.

Ranzini said the gala's planning committee also keeps in mind the sense of journey when choosing a guest speaker for the event.

"We look specifically for celebrity guest speakers who can bring something new to the community about their own cancer story and their own cancer journey," Ranzini said.

This year's event will feature celebrity guest speaker Merril Hoge, a former ESPN analyst and cancer survivor. His story is one SoutheastHEALTH president and CEO Ken Batemen heard Hoge tell to a group in Dexter, and Ranzini said Batemen knew he had to bring it to a larger audience.

Hoge's journey began in 1987 when he started his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played for the team until he joined the Chicago Bears as a free agent in 1993. After one year with the Bears, Hoge was forced to retire early after he was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome.

After the end of his NFL career, Hoge joined ESPN in 1995 as a football analyst and worked on the "NFL Match Up" show. A few years later, he would face another life-altering obstacle. It was in 2003 that Hoge received his diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

The former NFL player now sits on the board of the Highmark Caring Foundation and in 2010 published a book titled "Find A Way."

His story is one Ranzini is excited to share with the almost 400 gala goers who already have purchased tickets.

"In some of the celebrity cases, I think they choose where they'll speak based on what it's benefiting," Ranzini said. "Obviously [Hoge] thought this was a good cause."

Gala tickets must be purchased in advance, and Ranzini said the few remaining tickets are going fast. This year's theme is "Midnight in Marrakesh," and Ranzini said it will feature entertainment like fire-breathers and belly dancers, as well as a dinner by the Southerner, live music by Vote 4 Pedro and dancing.

Those in attendance also will have the chance to bid on items in a live auction as well as an online silent auction, which Ranzini said will open a few days before the event. Auction items include a guitar signed by Carrie Underwood as well as a set of replica St. Louis Cardinals World Series rings.

The Foundation's fundraising goal is $150,000, a level Ranzini is confident this year's event will "far exceed."

Aside from channeling funds back into the cancer center patient care, Ranzini said it also supports the center's ability to offer free mammograms and screening services to the "uninsured and under-insured."

Ranzini said the gala wouldn't be possible without the support of volunteers as well as many businesses in the community that donate money, auction items, tables and more to the event.

"We couldn't do it without the support of local community business," Ranzini said. "Every year I'm so taken back by their commitment to not only us but all of these types of nonprofits."

Tickets are $150 each and can be purchased via phone at (573) 519-4920 or online at http://www.SEhealth.org/gala.