PBCC President & Founder Pat Halpin-Murphy was recently elected as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania. Pat was presented with a medal and a citation by Governor Tom Corbett and First Lady Susan Corbett during an event at the Governor’s Residence. “The exceptional accomplishments of this talented group of women bring both honor and respect to Pennsylvania,” Governor Corbett said. “I am grateful for their continued commitment to making our state a better place.”

Pat was chosen for this honor because of her tireless work with the PBCC, as well as her service on Pennsylvania’s Cancer Advisory Board, and co-chairing the Pennsylvania Refunds for Research Committee. She also serves on a number of national boards and commissions and co-authored Breast Cancer: Covered or Not? A Guide on Insurance..

The Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania was established in 1948 as a way to honor women who have shown distinguished service through a professional career and/or voluntary service.

Leslie Stiles and Leslie Anne Miller who served as PBCC Honorary Chairs during the Rendell administration, also lent their support to the event. Special thanks to Secretary Sheri Phillips and the Department of General Services for turning the fountain pink for the occasion.

Former First Ladies Ellen Casey and Kathy Schweiker also offered their support to the event, although they were not able to attend.

It has been about creating an insurance guidebook to help women navigate complex insurance issues and bringing our 67 Women, 67 Counties exhibit to communities throughout the state; motivating state legislators to enact legislation to improve the lives of breast cancer survivors.  This is just a snap shot of what we do. In everything we do – whether it is answering a phone call or email or driving around the state in our pink van – we turn awareness into action. We hope to inspire you to turn awareness into action in your community as well.

TOP TEN TEAMS

1. Furlong Boys Team 2—2,105 points
2. Neuman’s Crew – 2,050 points
3. PeoplesBank Team 3—1,895 points
4. Cross’ Crusaders – 1,795 points
5. TESCO Tools Team 2 — 1,760 points
6. Furlong Boys Team 1 – 1,745 points
7. Community State Bank of Orbisonia – 1,580 points
8. Icing on the Lake Team 2 — 1,575 points
9. Guns of Roses Team 1 – 1,560 Points
10. UTI Power -1,545 points

TOP FIVE INDIVIDUAL BATTERS

1. Bill Klenoshek – 675 points
2. Blair Beer — 400 points
3. Jeffrey Lengle – 375 points
4. Adam Edmonds- 350 points
5. Scott Bell- 335 points

Congratulations and a huge THANK YOU to everyone who was a part of this year’s home run derby at each of the 8 stadiums. With your help, we not only raised nearly $90,000 for the PBCC but also increased awareness in communities throughout the state.  For complete results from each location, be sure to read each stadium recap on our blog. Start practicing now and you could see your name published here next year at our 2013 Take a Swing Against Breast Cancer!

Senator Bob Mensch

The first of the two bills would require certified FDA facilities to provide patients with information related to their breast density and post a notice advising women with dense breast tissue that they may benefit from supplemental screening such as a breast MRI. The second bill would amend existing law to extend mandated insurance coverage to ultrasound and MRI screening if a mammogram shows dense breast tissue.

“Mammogram films of breasts with higher density are harder to read and interpret than those of less dense breasts,” said Senator Mensch. “Breast density is one of the strongest predictors of the failure of mammography screening to detect cancer, with a mammogram missing at least 40% of tumors in women with the densest breasts.”

Senator Mensch’s staff member Terry Gillen said, “Kudos to the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition for raising this important issue.  As a breast cancer survivor, I know that we need to provide women with more information and more options regarding dense breast tissue diagnosis.”

We were blessed to have her enthusiasm and dedication, and she rose through the ranks of the organization to eventually become our Executive Director. She earned many accolades for her tireless work. Thank you, Heather, for your 18 years of leadership and service to the PBCC and best wishes in your next endeavor! You will be truly missed.

I am pleased to announce that our Program Director, Jennifer Pensinger, has jumped in to the Executive Director role. Jennifer, who reached her 10th anniversary with the Coalition on August 5, brings great leadership, passion, and a thorough knowledge of the PBCC as an organization. We are thrilled that she accepted the position and look forward to her many contributions as Executive Director.

Here is a complete look at this weekend’s standings:

Guns of Roses Team 1 – 1,560 Points (Lancaster winners!)

UTI Team 1 – 1,545 points (Greg Gunter with 2 home runs!)

Swinging for 2nd - 1,280 points

UTI Team 2 - 1,240 points

Guns of Roses Team 2 – 1,220

RKL – 1,170

Wells Fargo Team 2 – 1,150

Susquehanna Bank Team 2 – 1,025

Susquehanna Bank Team 1 – 975

Scared Hitless – 920

Wells Fargo Team 1 – 890

Dart Container Team 1 – 885

Dart Container Team 2 - 860

Team Emerald Team 2 – 830

Team Emerald Team 1 – 745

Individual Batter Scott Bell – 335

Individual Batter Judy Millan – 115

Congratulations to our home run hitter!

Greg Gunter - 2

Thank you to the awesome staff and crew at Clipper Magazine Stadium for making Derby #8 a success!  You can check out all of the Lancaster Derby photos by clicking here.  Don’t forget to stay up-to-date on PBCC news and events by following us on Twitter and Facebook!

Did we have fun or what?  Derby season would not have been complete without every one of our batters, volunteers and spectators!  Thank you for all of your hard work and support as we fight to find a cure to this disease.  We hope to see you again soon!

]]> http://s389932830.onlinehome.us/blog/2012/07/bats-boas-and-barnstormers-lancaster-teams-take-a-swing-against-breast-cancer/feed/ 0 http://s389932830.onlinehome.us/blog/2012/07/batters-of-all-ages-step-up-to-the-plate-in-altoona/ http://s389932830.onlinehome.us/blog/2012/07/batters-of-all-ages-step-up-to-the-plate-in-altoona/#comments Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:26:47 +0000 Kristen https://www.pabreastcancer.org/blog/?p=2699 On Wednesday, July 25, batters, fans and a plethora of volunteers came out to the Peoples Natural Gas Field, home of the Altoona Curve, to participate in the second-to-last home run derby of the season. Take a Swing Against Breast Cancer® at the Altoona Curve started out with a group of “little sluggers” stepping up to the plate to take their turn at the batting cage. This group, comprised of 3 batters under the age of 15, knocked off the socks of spectators as they made some incredible hits to the outfield and truly held their ground. Look out for this group in the years to come at Altoona!

Thanks to all of our teams, and the groups of volunteers who stayed with us throughout the day to shag balls in the outfield as the sun beat down on them…that’s dedication! We had groups from AT&T, Best Buy, YTI Career Institute and the Altoona Curve Junior. We couldn’t have been there without you, thanks for your support!

Check out the list of teams below, and our solo home run hitter!

• Community State Bank of Orbisonia – 1,580 points (Altoona Winners!)
• Central PA Community Foundation – 1,170 points
• PSU Altoona Grounds Crew – 785 points
• The Sky’s the Limit – 780 points

Home Run Hitters:

• Scott Knepper from Community State Bank of Orbisonia—1

Thanks to everyone who came out, including the staff of the Altoona Curve for their help and enthusiasm at our event. View all of the photos from the Altoona Derby at Peoples Natural Gas Field here.

• Representative Garth Everett Team – 1,055 points (Williamsport Winners!)
• Swinging for Second Base – 790 points
• Chesapeake Energy Team 1 – 730 points
• Chesapeake Energy Team 2 – 500 points

Special thank you to all the media partners who came out to the event, including WNEP Channel 16, WBRE-TV and the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Check out the video clip from WBRE here. Additionally thanks to the staff at the Crosscutters and our great volunteers who stayed throughout the entire day!  View all of our photos from the Williamsport Derby here. Next up: Lancaster on Saturday, July 28! Follow us @PBCC for live tweets during game days!

Thanks to all of our teams and spectacular volunteers at the Washington Wild Things. Check out the lineup of teams and individual batters below:

• Neuman’s Crew – 2,050 points (Washington Winners!)
• Bill Klenoshek’s Team – 1,425 points
• Representative Rob Matzie’s Team – 955 points
• Washington Financial Bank – 930 points
• Individual Batter Bill Klenoshek – 675 points

Congratulations to batter Bill Klenoshek, who is currently our overall individual batter winner with 675 points and of course our 7-home-run-batter Joe Oliphant!  Thank you to everyone who came out to the Washington Derby, and special thanks to the staff at Consol Energy Park for your support and entertainment throughout the day! Our volunteers truly appreciated the dance music in between batters! Everyone that was there made this a very energetic, silly and successful event for the PBCC. View all the photos from our day at the ballpark here.