Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Hero of Hope Award
IST's Gives Back
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) awarded Hal Blackman, IST CEO & President, the 2022 Georgia Chapter's Hero of Hope Award this past February. This award is for individuals without a direct connection to the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) community who have brought awareness, fundraised, and educated within their local communities while supporting the mission of CFF.
Hal's interest in CF began more than 30 years ago, with a chance interaction with a group of children diagnosed with CF at the Marriott Hotel. "I can still remember every detail of that meeting and how my heart went out to those innocent kids struck with such a difficult disease."
Why Cystic Fibrosis?
When he realized IST needed a specific charity to focus its service efforts on, he knew instantly that The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) was the right choice. When Jennifer and Blake first met Hal, Blake was just four years old. He became IST's CF Ambassador, a personal face and story to center our fundraising efforts around.
Over a decade later, Blake is soon to celebrate his 16th birthday. At his diagnosis, the median age of survival was 38 years, and today it's 56 years. CFF research supports the medications, treatments and therapies needed to keep kids like Blake breathing. Newly developed drugs such as Trikafta have positively impacted the quality of life of many CF fighters. In the past two years, Blake has seen tremendous progress in the health of his lungs and his overall strength.
Great Strides 2023 CF Fundraising Walk
This fantastic campaign could only have been executed flawlessly year after year with the exceptional leadership and organization of IST's Vice President of Human Resources Administration, Lori Mitchum. This year we have Great Strides Fundraising teams in more than 40 cities nationally. From virtual walks to volunteering, there's always a way for everyone to get involved. An exciting and well-deserved shoutout goes to the designer of our 2023 Great Strides IST T-Shirt, Melvin Montgomery, Site Manager at Murchison & Cumming in Los Angeles.
IST's 2023 fundraising goal is $30,000.00. All fundraisers who raise at least $200+ will be eligible to earn a special edition IST Top Fundraiser Mug. The top five fundraisers can choose from four prizes: Nintendo Switch, Apple iPad 9, Amazon Kindle Scribe, or a $300 American Express Gift card.
IST is eager to surpass our fundraising goal and, as always, raise awareness for Cystic Fibrosis. We walk for Blake and all the inspiring individuals living with CF each year until we find a cure. If you’d like to support IST’s CF campaign, you can directly contribute here.
