Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacy Sager.
Hi Stacy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My husband, Hall of Fame Sportscaster Craig Sager, was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2014… and that’s where our SagerStrong Foundation story begins. We’re all touched by cancer somehow. Really, it was out of Craig’s battle and inspiration and love that we started the SagerStrong Foundation.
Craig inspired so many people around the world during his fight against blood cancer, not just cancer patients. People around the world, they just wanted to help because he was so optimistic and so positive. To go through a stem cell transplant, let alone go through three like Craig did, is barbaric. Not many people make it through. It was history in the making — that was what his physicians at M.D. Anderson (Cancer Research and Treatment Hospital) in Houston, Texas, said. SagerStrong Foundation was built out of love and support. And Craig’s last wishes to me were… he said, ‘Please do promise me (that) you’ll do everything in your power so no family and friends will have to go through the pain and suffering we went through.” The SagerStrong Foundation was created in 2016– with the mission to raise funds for research and programs for families dealing with a blood cancer diagnosis. We are very lucky– we have some great partners… I am on the board of Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Georgia, and I’m partnered with them. I partner with Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research and M.D. Anderson clinical trials. It all comes down to research and funding, which we need help (with) constantly. Craig was in many clinical trials. He couldn’t have gone through those stem cell transplants without clinical trials.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, obviously it was not an easy road — but I have a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Illinois-Chicago, and I worked in a cardiac arena at Boston Scientific for nearly a decade. So I was very comfortable in the hospital /medical setting. I know my way around, and I know the questions to ask physicians, and I have always had an interest in progress made in the area of medical research. But it wasn’t until Craig was diagnosed that I zeroed in on blood cancer as the President of the SagerStrong Foundation. Losing Craig was the most difficult part of it all – but I made a promise to Craig to do everything I could to make a difference — and I will do that for our children, Riley and Ryan, so that other families may not have to lose their father or mother to this terrible disease. This December (12/15/21) will be five years that Craig has been gone… and the passion to make a difference has never been stronger. We feel very fortunate to have wonderful partners like the Atlanta Braves, Northside Hospital, MD Anderson, the VFoundation for Cancer Research, Angel Oak, the Cumberland Group, WGB Group, the ASPIRE Group, Woodford Reserve, Bentley, and countless other supporters and corporations that help us strive to “move the needle” each day!
As you know, we’re big fans of SagerStrong Foundation. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The SagerStrong Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to giving hope to those who need it most through raising funds for research and programming for families battling blood cancer.
The Foundation hosts several events and programs a year — including a blood drive/campaign with the American Red Cross, a scholarship opportunity called the SagerStrong Foundation Hometown Hero Award presented by Rand Refrigeration (an application process open to a local patient or thriver dealing with or beating blood cancer), two fundraisers a year (described below) and the March Mania event designed specifically for patients at CHOA dealing with cancer during March Madness time.
The SagerStrong Foundation has two important fundraisers a year — the SagerStrong Foundation Stadium Fun Run at Truist Park and the Living Out Loud Golf Tournament. People ALWAYS ask—why a run at a baseball park? (Since Craig was always associated with basketball?) Well, a lot of people probably don’t know, but Craig’s first love was baseball. When he was ten years old, Ernie Banks … was his hero. Craig wanted to be a baseball player (as a boy). So I wanted to honor that. We’ve done golf tournaments for four years, which was his other passion. But I wanted to honor baseball and partner with the (Atlanta) Braves. We decided to mimic what Damon Runyon has done for the(5K Run/Walk for Cancer Research) charity event that’s done at Yankee Stadium in New York City — have the run TOTALLY contained within the ballpark. Baseball fans and running enthusiasts have joined us two years now (2019 and 2021) to run up and down the ramps, the stairs, all the levels, down below and end up on the (warning) track and the field. Our SagerStrong Foundation Stadium Fun Run is designed for the whole family — to walk or run — and it is a challenging but super fun course — that finishes at the Left Field Gate with a full-blown party called Tent Town — it’s such a fun destination event! Keep an eye out for information on next year’s run – at http://sagerstrongfoundation.org.
Please check out our website at sagerstrongfoundation.org — for more info on our events, as well as caregiving tips, information on blood cancer, dealing with COVID and cancer, and info on many of our partners as well!
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I wanted to leave your readers with this … our goal with the Foundation is to honor Craig’s legacy — and do everything in our power to help those going through this to stay positive and fight hard. Craig got so much love going through his battle that we just want to pay it forward and help give support and hope to those who need it. We’d like to invite your readers to come check out an event or share our info with someone they know that might be battling a blood cancer … our website is: https://sagerstrongfoundation.org. As Craig always used to say… “Live your life full of life, full of fun and full of style!” #SagerStrong
Contact Info:
- Email: info@sagerstrongfoundation.org
- Website: https://sagerstrongfoundation.org
- Instagram: @SagerStrongFoundation
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sagerstrong
- Twitter: @SagerStrong
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMFplesDiglr130tXl091oA
Image Credits
Mark Hill Photography – headshot of Stacy Jill Beckett – Stadium Fun Run photos Jean Landmesser – golf flag shot Terri Grunduski – rest of golf photos
