Joe Gibbs, Lee Greenwood help ProstAware raise $75,000 at Blue Ties luncheon to create awareness for prostate cancer
September 28, 2015 (Atlanta) — Three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach and NASCAR championship-winning team owner Joe Gibbs and country music artist Lee Greenwood helped to raise $75,000 at ProstAware’s seventh annual Blue Ties luncheon on Sept. 11 at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead.
ProstAware is a nonprofit devoted to raising awareness in metro Atlanta about prostate cancer through the use of music, technology and sports. The total amount raised far eclipsed Blue Ties’ total in 2014 of $40,000, all of which went to ProstAware’s year-round educational programming. More than 450 people attended the 2015 event, which was once again emceed by 11 Alive’s Jerry Carnes, himself a prostate cancer survivor.
Dr. Scott Miller, the founder of ProstAware and a urologic laparoscopist, has been a crusader against prostate cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). In 2015, more than 220,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the United States, ACS estimates.
“I am thrilled that we were able to have such a successful event,” Dr. Miller said. “I would like to publicly thank Joe Gibbs and Lee Greenwood for taking time from their busy schedules to help make such an important contribution to our cause this year. With these funds and with the attention that they brought to our mission, hopefully, we can help to save more men’s lives.”
Gibbs, whose Washington Redskins teams won Super Bowls XVII, XXII and XXVI and whose Joe Gibbs Racing team has won three NASCAR Cup Series titles, served as the featured speaker. One of Gibbs’ former players with the Redskins, Jeff Bostic, was a patient of Dr. Miller’s. Bostic, who lives in metro Atlanta and attended Blue Ties, was a member of Washington’s famed offensive line under Gibbs – dubbed “The Hogs” – and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1983. The Grammy-winning Greenwood performed a number of songs, including his hit “God Bless the USA,” which carried great resonance on the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks against the United States.
ProstAware’s Blue Ties luncheon was sponsored by Intuitive Surgical, Lenz, Northside Hospital Cancer Institute, Toyota, The Coca-Cola Company, Georgia Prostate Cancer Coalition, SurgiQuest, LapaRobotic Surgery, Myriad, Georgia Cancer Specialists, Atlanta magazine, 11 Alive, WSB News Radio and Men’s Book Atlanta magazine.
ProstAware is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to educating men in metro Atlanta about prostate health through music, technology, and sports. ProstAware encourages men in metro Atlanta to monitor their prostate health, provides a centralized resource for prostate cancer awareness and promotes education and awareness through its annual Blue Ties event, local speaking engagements, and other Atlanta area health programs.
