Road Warrior

Apr 10, 2008 by Doug Ulman

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When I was younger I never really understood the term. I read it and heard it reference on television but I never truly knew what it meant. Rest assured, I have come to know the meaning. I spent Tuesday in Portland meeting with the leadership of Nike and discussing the future of the LIVESTRONG brand and collection. It was a fascinating session and it reinforced to me yet again that our collaboration with Nike is unparalleled in the philanthropic community. Their desire to help us build our brand and their deep rooted passion for giving back to our shared mission is unheard of. Providing 100% of their net profits is quite extraordinary but that only tells half of the story. Their entire management team is highly engaged and for that the LAF and the entire LIVESTRONG Army is eternally grateful.

As I sat in the John McEnroe building in Beaverton, Oregon talking about the future of the brand I was reminded of how far we have come. After all, this is young adult cancer awareness week. There was no such week when I was diagnosed. There was no LIVESTRONG brand. There was no landmark public/private partnership with Nike. I name just a few things that have happened in the past 11 years.

When I left the Nike campus I truly felt fortunate. Fortunate to have survived. Fortunate to work for an incredible organization focused on helping millions of others. Most importantly, fortunate that Nike has committed numerous resources to ensure that we reach our goals. We are not in this alone. We have an incredible partner in the Northwest who is committed to building the livestrong movement and to finally seeing the eradication of cancer.

We are the lucky ones.