Rallying at the Relay for One of Our Own

Members of the Aspen Dental team in Boardman, OH, along with friends and family members, rallied at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in nearby Poland in early July to honor Aspen Dental regional manager and breast cancer survivor Janet DeSimone.
Janet’s team, which included daughter Nikki Previte, a patient service representative at the Aspen Dental location in Boardman, Ohio, and son-in-law Joel Previte, who also works at Aspen Dental, together raised $3,300. Joel and Morgan Barrett, a patient service representative in the Niles, OH office, walked 20 miles despite a heat index of 110. The extraordinary heat forced organizers to end the Relay a day early.

Janet, who’s been with Aspen for seven years, was named the Relay’s 2012 Survivor Queen.

In his nomination, Joel wrote: “Whether it is purely courage or stubbornness, or a combination of the two, my mother-in-law is a textbook example of someone not willing to yield to the destruction that is cancer…She has the fighting spirit necessary to overcome this dreadful condition. That is a good thing because not only can the world benefit from a person like Janet, but there are several lives even closer to home that need her around for a while still….The woman is extraordinary and that is why I am nominating her for Relay Queen.”

Janet has been grateful of all the support she has received since she was diagnosed last November.

“All I could say about Joel’s letter is WOW. He made me out to be some sort of hero that I am not,” Janet said. “I’m blessed to have a great family, friends and co-workers who have been incredible throughout this and an employer who has stood behind me and been so understanding throughout my surgeries and treatments. I’m not sure if any other employer would have been this understanding.

“What the team did makes me more determined than ever to beat this (cancer),” Janet said.

© 2012, Mark F.. All rights reserved.