Use the Individual Tickets section to the right to buy your individual tickets.
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If we cannot obtain a logo in a usable format, we may substitute a text listing of the company name.
Please send logo file to: info@wingsofhopepcr.org
For information on the event contact Maureen Shul 303-378-8868
JOIN THE EFFORT…BE A PART OF THE POSSIBLE, BE THE HOPE.
Over 525 people braved the early hour and bitter cold to participate in the 2022 City Park 5K Run/Walk for Pancreatic Cancer Research at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Powered by the CU Cancer Center and the Division of Surgical Oncology, WINGS OF HOPE was proud to be a part of this incredible morning where staff, patients, doctors, families, runners, walkers, survivors, and surgeons connected, ran and walked together for a purpose meaningful to all of them. Huge thanks to Cathy and Jim Noon and Evie for being such incredible ambassadors for WINGS OF HOPE and giving their entire morning to this event. Thanks also to Jonathan Radin who claims he doesn’t know what he’s doing most of the time, but makes it happen better than anyone. The planning is already underway to make next year’s event bigger, better, and a lot warmer.
Cathy Noon and Maureen Shul
Jim Noon, Evie, Cathy Noon
Allison, Jack and Grace Krebs
Good morning, good crowd, and a lot of good dogs
Finishing the race
Cathy Noon, Dr. Marco del Chiaro
Dr. Marco del Chiaro crosses the finish line
Dr. Christine Cenciarelli and Dr. Richard Schulick
finish the run
Sunrise at City Park
Thank you to everyone who braved the first measurable snow of the season to attend the fundraising event at Kendra Scott in Park Meadows where a portion of all purchases made this evening will go to WINGS OF HOPE. Special thanks to the great team at Kendra Scott who did everything possible to make the evening such an enjoyable success.
Some of the wonderful people who stopped by Kendra Scott in support of WINGS OF HOPE: Ann Adams, Amy Mitchell, Maureen Shul, Susan Squyer, Cindy York
Featured speaker SR-71 Pilot Brian Shul, WINGS OF HOPE founder Maureen Shul, and event auctioneer Gary Corbett
WINGS OF HOPE FOR PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH presented an ‘Evening of Hope’ at Constitution Wharf in Boston to benefit the pancreatic cancer research program at Massachusetts General Hospital. At the invitation of Dr. Colin Weekes, Director, Medical Oncology Research for Pancreatic Cancer at MGH, WINGS OF HOPE founder Maureen Shul worked with the exceptional staff at MGH Development Office for several months to ensure the evening was an enjoyable success in bringing together physicians, researchers, patients, families and staff to create community with those involved and impacted by this disease. After opening remarks, Maureen Shul spoke to the reasons for the WINGS OF HOPE non profit organization and the necessity of maintaining hope through every facet of the disease and every funded research project. Auctioneer Gary Corbett was a hit with the crowd of New Englanders, followed by featured speaker SR-71 pilot Brian Shul whose remarks on the theme of never giving up in the face of insurmountable odds resonated deeply. “The evening was important in developing community in support of the MGH pancreatic cancer program,” stated Dr. Weekes, “and a unique opportunity for our patients and their families to engage with the combined clinical and research teams that form the foundation of our program.”
Dr. David Ryan and Dr. Carlos Fernandez-Del Castillo
Brian Shul
Dr. Colin Weekes, Maureen Shul, Elizabeth Weekes
Dr. Colin Weekes and Maureen Shul
Rhonda Williams (National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation), Maureen Shul, Natalie Sabga (John E. Sabga Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer)
Isabella Camelo, Meagan Coons, Brian Shul, Maureen Shul, Caroline Barrett, Leslie Ruchala
Brian Shul, Kevin Barry, Maureen Shul
Maureen Shul, Rhonda Williams
Beautiful backdrop for an incredible evening
Please click here to read full article.
The 10th anniversary of Wings of Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Research on Sept. 23 was truly an Evening of Hope as groundbreaking medical inquiry met inspiring stories of survival and resilience.
“The biggest hope I had [at last year’s event] was to make it another year and be able to attend today—and thank God, I am,” said Cathy Noon, a pancreatic cancer survivor and a former mayor of Centennial who participates in the Wings of Hope grant process.
Noon shared the stage with Melissa East, a 14-year survivor whose younger brother died of the same disease in 1999, leaving behind a widow and 6-year-old twins.
“Ultimately, pancreatic cancer research is about people,” she said. “People who need hope because they have things to do with their lives in this world—raising young twins, visiting the Amazon rainforest on a canoe, whatever can be dreamed.”
The 10th Evening of Hope was held at Exploration of Flight at Centennial Airport where the Wings were as literal as figurative. The keynote speaker was noted SR-71 pilot Brian Shul, who lost his mother and brother to pancreatic cancer within months of each other. His sister, Maureen, founded Wings of Hope a decade ago as a way to make sense of their tragic losses.
“I had to find a way to give meaning to what was unspeakable,” she told the audience of Wings of Hope supporters who have in total donated more than $2 million to support groundbreaking medical research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. “Everything that’s been done these last few years, everything that has been accomplished, could not have happened without the support and generosity of so many of you.”
Richard Schulick, M.D., director of the CU Cancer Center, the research organization that is the recipient of the funding, stressed the importance of the vigilant battle made possible by Wings of Hope.
“Pancreatic cancer is a beast,” he said. “This year, 60,000 Americans will be newly diagnosed … and 42,000 will pass away. It’s the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States.”
Not that there isn’t reason for hope to take flight.
“I consider it a true privilege to meet with [patients and families],” Schulick said, “to help design a plan to take care of them, cure some of them, but help every one.”
On the bright and hopeful side, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer has risen from a meager 4% back when Schulick was a medical intern to greater than 40% today. The difference can be largely attributed to the range of medical investigations that take place every day at CU Cancer Center and other state-of-the-art facilities around the world.
“Research can be the key to moving forward,” explained Carlo Marchetti, Ph.D., a Wings of Hope grant recipient who serves as a research professor at CU’s Anschutz Medical Campus. “Research depends on your support.”
The groundbreaking Wings of Hope-supported trials have included the detailed testing of new drugs and treatments—ideas that may have sat dormant on notepads without the necessary funding that came with the launch of Wings of Hope 10 years ago.
“Within a short period of time, a lot of data was produced and we’re moving forward—and that wouldn’t be possible without Wings of Hope,” said Todd Pitts, a grant recipient who serves as director of CU’s GI Transitional Research Lab.
It is that kind of progress that Maureen Shul envisioned in 2012 when she founded Wings of Hope after discovering there to be a dearth of foundations solely dedicated to supporting pancreatic cancer research.
“After the tragedies in my own family, I learned very quickly that it was the research more than anything else that had an impact,” she said.
The name of the organization—with its natural metaphors for support and progress—took flight in a quite literal way as Shul made the difficult back-to-back plane trips to two family memorials. Those were the only two times that Shul had been seated directly adjacent a wing.
“The first was flying back from my brother’s funeral in Seattle. The second was flying back from my mother’s in St. Petersburg, Florida,” the Wings of Hope founder remembered. “It was just so surreal to stare out at that wing in the clouds for so long.”
The Wings of Hope name and logo were soon born.
A quote from South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu seemed to sum up the Wings of Hope mission and life-saving research in general, the founder said. “There comes a point where we need to stop pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”
Story and photos by Lisa Perry
Amid the congenial atmosphere and live-auction fun at the 10th annual Wings of Hope “Evening of Hope,” there were some serious facts about pancreatic cancer. There was also also a “wow” true story from SR-71 Blackbird pilot Brian Shul. But as the night went on, one thing stood out: Among this crowd, Maureen Shul is the emerging candidate for the next presidential election. After speakers praised the Wings of Hope founder and inaugural mayor of Castle Pines, they also mentioned what a great president she would be. When she took her turn at the podium, first she apologized for the event running long. Then, she deadpanned: “Volunteers, I’d like you all to stay late, after the event, and make sure everything is cleaned up for my presidential campaign meeting.”
On Friday, Sept. 23, around 300 supporters converged on Exploration of Flight Hangar at Centennial Airport, the ideal location for keynote speaker Brian Shul, retired USAF major and one of only 93 people to pilot the SR-71, the top-secret Blackbird–the world’s fastest, highest-flying aircraft ever built. Gary Corbett led a live auction of 17 quickly sold items. The evening’s other speakers were: Melissa East, 14-year pancreatic cancer survivor; Cathy Noon, former Centennial mayor and 4-year pancreatic cancer survivor; Carlo Marchetti, PhD, research assistant professor at CU Anschutz Medical Campus and Wings of Hope research grant recipient; Todd Pitts, director of the GI Translational Research Lab, associate professor at CU Anschutz Medical Campus and Wings of Hope research grant recipient; Richard Schulick, MD, MBA, director of the CU Cancer Center; and Maureen Shul.
One of the more sobering statistics of pancreatic cancer is the fact there are so few survivors of this disease to tell their story and advocate for increased research. Founded in 2012 by Maureen Shul after losing her mother Blanche and brother Victor, Wings of Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Research is a non-profit foundation dedicated to raising awareness and funding for pancreatic cancer research and programs at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. In February 2013, Wings of Hope and the cancer center entered into a partnership, with both entities combining efforts to have the CU Cancer Center become the regional hub and national destination for pancreatic cancer research.
The foundation’s focused effort not only helps better define priorities, but also makes a definitive statement about the critical urgency and need for pancreatic cancer research to continue at an accelerated pace. An all-volunteer effort, Wings of Hope has raised approximately $2 million, all of which has been provided to the CU Cancer Center in the form of grants to fund pancreatic cancer research. For more information about Wings of Hope, go to: WingsofHopePCR.org. To learn more about CU Cancer Center, visit: https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/colorado-cancer-center
(l to r): Maureen Shul, Rick and Judy Kleiner, and Maureen’s brother
and SR-71 pilot Brian Shul
(l to r): Katie Wiktor, Director of CU Cancer Center Richard Schulick, Brian Shul, Maureen Shul and Arek Wiktor
Maureen Shul (left), with Jennifer Miller
Brother-sister Brian Shul and Maureen Shul…Brian piloted the SR-71 Blackbird and Maureen is the founder of Wings of Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Research
Cheryl and Rob Meguid
The Miller family (l to r): Greg and Jennifer, with daughters Keaton (center) and Vaughn
Table 1 folks in the hangar
(l to r): Edie Marks, Director of CU Cancer Center Richard Schulick and wife Cristina Cenciarelli
Auctioneer Gary Corbett (right), with Ethan and Nancy Feldman
(l to r): Benjamin and Jennifer Veloso, Maci Lessar and Tim Sherman
Lucas (left) and Logan Turner
Mike Fronapfel and Maureen Shul
(l to r): William Wood, artist Topher Straus, Linda Summers and Sam Hankin
They’re all cousins!
Colin Daugherty (left) with Nathaniel Romero
(l to r): Jay and Jill Clark, Jerri and Russ McGrane
Guests enjoyed the Colorado mountain sunset with their dinner.
Wings of Hope fleece vests and beanies were sold by volunteers Kim Hoffman and Jack Adams
(l to r): Katie and Todd Goldman, Libby Aescheacher, Abbey Friedman
(l to r): Amy Decolati, Sami Quick, Bruce Simner, Susie Dalton and Gary Decolati
At the Hope jewelry booth (l to r): BJ Williams with daughters Lena (center) and Evie
Jeff Kirkendall (left) and Charlie Fagan
Don Sheehan (left), Centennial Council member, with Cathy and Jim Noon…Cathy is former mayor of Centennial and a 4-year pancreatic cancer survivor.
Enjoying the fall evening at Exploration of Flight
Greg Miller (left) and Galen Turner
Centennial Mayor Stephanie Piko and Council Member Don Sheehan
(l to r): Karen Cusick, Linda Michow and Laurie Jokerst
Laurie Jokerst, with daughter Aubrey
Dennis Thompson and Carlene Walker
Doug Hill (far right), with friends
Jim and Heather Grimshaw
Don and Rosemarie Allen add style to the Denver sunset view at Centennial Airport.
Cathy Noon, 4-year pancreatic cancer survivor, speaks to the audience…behind her (l to r): Melissa East, Maureen Shul, Richard Schulick, Todd Pitts and Carlo Marchetti
Carlo Marchetti, research assistant professior, CU Anschutz Medical Campus, and Wings of Hope research grant recipient
Todd Pitts, Director GI Translational Research Lab, associate professor at CU Anschutz Medical Campus and Wings of Hope research grant recipient
Richard Schulick, MD, MBA, is the director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
A toast to 10 years of Wings of Hope
Wings of Hope founder Maureen Shul
Catching up before the live auction
The Ohlsson family during the live auction
The winning bid
This table was all about a team effort during the live auction.
Lots of smiles during the live auction
Maureen Shul, right, was outbid on a live auction item…but the higher bid was appreciated for her nonprofit.
Gary Corbett, an auctioneer with fun and efficiency
USAF retired major Brian Shul had a showstopper beginning to his fascinating talk.
Brian Shul talks about being shot down in Vietnam, severely injured and his comeback to fly the SR-71 top-secret Blackbird, the world’s fastest and highest-flying aircraft ever built.
Brian Shul told his SR-71 Blackbird story in his book Sled Driver.
The dinner buffet was from Catering By Design
Checking out live-auction items
Melissa East (right), 14-year pancreatic cancer survivor, tells her story.
Every year we think the Kingsbury Open cannot get any better, and every year we are overjoyed as to how wonderfully perfect, magnificent, and successful the day turns out. On the most spectacular sun drenched day, a sell out crowd of golfers wanting to help the effort to fund pancreatic cancer research at CU Cancer Center met at Bear Dance Golf Club in Larkspur, Colorado, and through their generous participation, did just that. Thank you to Lisa Kingsbury Goodman for starting this tournament in memory of her father, all the exceptional volunteers who make the day go so smoothly, the generous sponsors, and the many supporters who donate to this event in many different ways. While the tournament is a fun day to be with friends in the most beautiful setting, no one loses sight of the fact we are playing in memory of those we have lost to this disease and in honor and support of those going through it. Thank you to everyone who participated, supported, and helped make this day so special and successful.
Colin Daugherty, Laurie Jokerst, Maureen Shul
On July 30, 2022 under a beautiful Colorado sky, golfers teed off at Loveland’s Mariana Butte Golf Course to help fund pancreatic cancer research. For 8 years the Shane Lee Memorial has partnered with WINGS OF HOPE for this event, all proceeds going directly to fund pancreatic cancer research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. This year’s sold out event raised $40k in net proceeds for pancreatic cancer research. Thank you to the great sponsors, enthusiastic players, and generous supporters, all of whom made this event such a success!
Thank you to the sell out crowd, the wonderful Hazel Miller and The Collective, the always tremendous WINGS OF HOPE volunteers, our generous sponsors, the kind donors to our auction, and all those whose tremendous support made this the most successful WINGS OF HOPE benefit to date!
Wings of Hope raises more than $100,000 for pancreatic cancer research at CU Cancer Center
Researchers express cautious optimism as survival rate for patients continues to inch higher
by Peter Jones
Despite the continuing effects of COVID-19, a dedicated community of supporters converged Sept. 18 for the sold-out Evening of Hope, generating more than $100,000 to benefit pancreatic cancer research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
“Wings of Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Research was determined since the pandemic began not to stop the fundraising,” said Maureen Shul, executive director and founder of the Colorado-based nonprofit organization. “That so many attended our benefit to hear Hazel Miller perform and support funding pancreatic cancer research at CU Cancer Center far surpassed anything I had hoped for.”
An eclectic crowd of CU physicians and researchers, pancreatic cancer patients and survivors, and an array of people with no personal connection to the disease came together at Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club in Aurora for a cocktail reception, a sit-down dinner, a live auction and a dynamic performance by Hazel Miller and the Collective.
“To hear the top oncologists at Anschutz Medical Campus share the latest developments in pancreatic cancer research and treatments, as well as hear from those on their own journey with this disease, is what made the evening so intensely meaningful,” Shul said.
After a year of lockdowns and bad news, the crowd was ready for something fun, as well as some relatively good news concerning the most challenging of deadly cancers.
Marco Del Chiaro, M.D., the CU Cancer Center’s division chief of surgical oncology, noted that the survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients has gone up a full 1,000% since the 1970s.
“This improvement is related to research,” he said. “We can offer some of those patients much more hope through a multimodal approach of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery.”
Richard Schulick, M.D., the CU Cancer Center’s director, compared today’s overall prognosis to the early days of his career three decades ago when only two out of every 100 pancreatic cancer patients could expect to survive five years after diagnosis.
“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” Schulick said. “We know what the game plan is. We have to invest more in research.”
That plan has come to life, thanks in part to the activities of Wings of Hope, which has been funding groundbreaking research at the Anschutz Medical Campus since 2013. Most recently, the organization provided the seed money needed to study the effectiveness of immunotherapy to stimulate the body’s ability to fend off aggressive cancer cells.
“So far, pancreatic cancer has been very resistant to that, so we’re hoping this will show a change,” said Wells Messersmith, M.D., the center’s associate director of medical oncology. “The philanthropy raised through Wings of Hope helped us to actually open a clinical trial. There were a lot of start-up costs and things that we just didn’t have.”
Thanks to events like Evening of Hope and the recent Kingsbury Open Golf Tournament, those successes are expected to continue. Shul announced that the volunteer-run Wings of Hope has now raised a total of $1.3 million, all of which directly funds the ongoing research.
Shul paid tribute to former Centennial Mayor Cathy Noon, a pancreatic cancer patient who attended Evening of Hope.
“She has been an inspiration to many of us and shown us what leadership with integrity is all about,” said Shul, who founded Wings of Hope after losing two members of her family to pancreatic cancer.
“I want to thank you for giving me the space and support to take the ever-present sadness of losing my mother and my brother to this disease and give meaning and purpose to that grief through this foundation,” Shul said in her closing remarks.
Former mayor of Centennial, Cathy Noon and husband Jim
Claudine Jackson, Jess Noel, Rhonda Williams
Heather Kaufman with artist Topher Straus
Todd Grondzki with artist Arturo Garcia and Abigail Garcia
Steve and Barb Spanjer with artist Arturo Garcia
Joe and Connie Via
Full house at Heritage Eagle Bend Golf Club
Dr. Sana Karam, Dr. Marco Del Chiaro, WINGS OF HOPE founder Maureen Shul
Peter Jones with Cathy Noon
Cathy Noon and Nancy Koontz
Peter Jones and Maureen Shul
Wings of Hope volunteers Courtney Walsh and Marsha Lessar
Dancing to music of Hazel Miller and The Collective
Cathy and Jim Noon, Dr. and Mrs. Del Chiaro
Cathy Noon's "Family & Friends" group
Dr. Wells Messersmith, Gary Corbett, Cristina Cenciarelli, Dr. Richard Schulick
Dr. Sana Karam and guests
Dr. Sana Karam's Lab Research Group
Singer Coco Brown, Peter Jones, Singer Hazel Miller
Volunteer Kim Hoffman with Joanne and Cleveland Scarborough
Dr. Sana Karam, Dr. Marco Del Chiaro, Dr. Wells Messersmith
Artist Arturo Garcia with his artwork and Gary Corbett
Cathy Noon and Maureen Shul
Jim and Cathy Noon, Maureen Shul with Hazel Miller, Sandy and Curt Christensen
Hazel Miller and The Collective
Ron and Ann Wankner
Art and Pat Turek, Jackie and Dennis Thompson
Volunteers and newlyweds Duffy and Sherri Coleman
Volunteers Vicki Sperring and Alison Biggs
Violinist Gil Karam performs during reception
Laurie Jokerst, Gary Corbett, Nancy Koontz
Mylee and Brittni Tankersley
Laurie Jokerst, Colin and Aubrey Daugherty
Jackie and Dennis Thompson
Amanda Codina and Anthony Sjostrom
Linda Michow with daughter Isabella Realmuto
Auctioneer Gary Corbett
Hazel Miller
Art and Pat Turek
Maureen Shul and Topher Straus
Mike and Susan Gould, Maureen Shul, Judy and Rick Kleiner
Dr. Richard Schulick, Maureen Shul, Cristina Cenciarelli
Sam and Isabella Realmuto, Maureen Shul, Linda Michow, Jennifer and Greg Miller
Maureen Shul
Kathryn Haber, Dr. Sana Karam, Maureen Shul, Gil Karam
Cathy Noon, Hazel Miller
Gilbert Karam
Maureen Shul, Barb and Steve Spanjer
Connie Via, Maureen Shul
Kim Hoffman, Maureen Shul, Jennifer Miller
Maureen Shul, Courtney Walsh
Topher Straus, Linda Michow, Maureen Shul, Isabella and Sam Realmuto
National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation board members Jess Noel, Rhonda Williams, Claudine Jackson
THANK YOU to everyone who made this year’s Kingsbury Open another successful, sold-out, magnificent event, all to benefit pancreatic cancer research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. To Lisa and Joe Goodman, the wonderful volunteers, sponsors, donors, and every golfer who played with purpose under sunny skies at the gorgeous Bear Dance Golf Club, THANK YOU for making a difference in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
Founder of WINGS OF HOPE Maureen Shul with Kingsbury Open founder Lisa Goodman
Congratulations to everyone involved in the 2020 Kingsbury Open which, once again, surpassed all expectations. The annual sold out event was played on the most gorgeous September day at Bear Dance Golf Club in Larkspur, Colorado, with the last foursome finishing just as the sun was setting.
To the 188 players, the generous donors, the Bear Dance staff, the Washington Park Chiropractic team that puts it all together, and foremost to Lisa Goodman (and her entire family) who founded the Kingsbury Open in memory of her Dad, Thomas Kingsbury, who lost his life to pancreatic cancer, a heartfelt and tremendous thank you for this event that benefits WINGS OF HOPE FOR PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH. All proceeds from the event go directly to funding pancreatic cancer research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
While the tournament has become one of the premier and most enjoyable golf events in Colorado, no one forgets the purpose behind it and the positive impact it is having on moving pancreatic cancer research forward.
Lisa and Joe Goodman
David Seneshen
David Seneshen, Mick Roemer, Kelly Eliassen, Sam Realmuto
Courtney Walsh and Maureen Shul
Jordan Schindler, Greg Miller, and Glynn Frechette
Sam Realmuto
Glynn Frechette, Miller Lewis, Maureen Shul, Greg Miller, and Jordan Schindler
Laurie and Colin Daugherty, Courtney Walsh
Maureen Shul with Tribute Hole in memory of her Mother and brother lovingly sponsored by Jennifer and Greg Miller
To view October 22, 2011 WINGS OF HOPE event click here....
To view April 25th, 2013 WINGS OF HOPE event click here....
To view October 30th, 2014 WINGS OF HOPE event click here....
To view our many other past events click here....
JOIN THE EFFORT…BE A PART OF THE POSSIBLE, BE THE HOPE.