2014 Pillar Award for Community Service, Northeast Ohio
Robert F. Falls
President and CEO
Falls Communications
www.fallscommunications.com
Guys and community (pink) ties
Cancer is not gender specific. While breast cancer is a disease often associated with women, it can strike men as well. When Falls Communications President and CEO Robert F. Falls agreed to help Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio celebrate its 20th anniversary, he wanted to find a way to get more men involved and help broaden the fight against breast cancer.
Falls took wearing a shade of pink to another level. Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio has a Pink Tie Guy program, in which eight men are selected to wear pink ties to show support for women affected by breast cancer. Falls decided to bolster the event by adding a new twist — an event just for men. There were no table sales, no sponsorships and no wives. Rather, attendees were invited to make a donation of $1,008, which symbolically underscores the 1 in 8 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
Word about the event spread quickly through correspondence with personal friends, colleagues and partners. More than 90 men joined the 2013 Pink Tie class. They wore unique pink ties designed by Falls Communications throughout October to events, work, ribbon-cutting ceremonies and personal commitments, which prompted discussions about breast cancer prevention, treatment and detection.
The event raised more than $90,000 and led to new and exciting partnerships at both the corporate and individual levels. Plans are in motion for the 2014 Pink Tie Guy event.
