Press Releases

Atlanta 2009/11/04 -The American Cancer Society announced that it has established a Nationwide Gift Planning Advisory Council, which commenced during the third quarter of the 2009 calendar year and will be an active source of expert planned giving and estate planning consultation, will assist in the development of promotional strategies, and will serve as a resource for the Society’s marketplace introduction to potential donors.

Advisory council members will serve staggered two- and three-year terms, and they will provide guidance in estate planning law, tax, investment and wealth management, real estate, insurance, and personal financial planning and marketing – all to help increase the quality and quantity of planned gifts to the Society and to further its vision of a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

“We are extremely grateful that these experts in their fields are volunteering their time and experience to this nationwide advisory initiative. Their generous Council involvement will be key to the growth of planned gifts to the Society and to the continued delivery on our mission of saving lives, by helping people stay well and get well, by finding cures and by fighting back,” said Guy Fischer, American Cancer Society chief development officer.

Individuals whose estates include generous gifts to the American Cancer Society are linking their legacies with a commitment to making monumental differences in the lives of people throughout local communities, across the nation and around the world. From aiding the numerous vital programs and services that support those facing a cancer diagnosis, to life-changing research and medical discovery, to advocacy for access to quality health care for everyone, planned gifts are helping to ensure that the American Cancer Society delivers every day on its mission of saving lives.

Members of the American Cancer Society Nationwide Gift Planning Advisory Council are: Denise Baranowski, wealth management consultant – Naperville, Ill.; R. Cliff Berg, CLU, ChFC, AEP, Financial House – Centerville, Del.; Hyman Darling, Esq., Bacon & Wilson – Springfield, Mass.; Joseph Earley, Earley Law Offices – New Richmond, Wis.; Robert Gengler, Attorney at Law – Yuba City, Calif.; Paul C. Heintz, Chairman, Trusts & Estates Department, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, LLP – Philadelphia, Pa.; Diane Wynsma Hyland, Senior Trust Administrator, U.S. Trust West Michigan – Grand Rapids, Mich.; William M. Pearson, Esq., Grand, Fridkin, Pearson, Athan & Crown, P.A. – Naples, Fla.; Michael J. Riley, Esq. – Milford, Ohio; Mike Sontag, Tax Practice Group leader, Bass, Berry & Sims – Nashville, Tenn.; and Elizabeth F. Zaby, Attorney at Law, Zaby & Associates – Dallas, Texas.

“As a parent of a cancer survivor, I have attempted to dedicate a significant part of my professional energies to assist in any way I could in the fight against cancer. When asked to chair the Nationwide Gift Planning Advisory Council, I immediately accepted this new challenge,” said Sontag. “I expect to challenge myself and the other committee members to develop a national strategy for the Society’s planned giving efforts that will create a funding vehicle to allow as many people as possible, as my daughter recently did, to celebrate another birthday.”

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; by helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing about $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.