School Superintendent Daniel Warwick; Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood; Chief of Staff Tom Ashe; SRA Director Amanda Pham; City Clerk and Election Commissioner Gladys Oyola; Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Judi Crowell; Gus Kim, MGM Springfield Vice President and Legal Counsel; Trent Hufnagel, Chief of Security for MGM Springfield; Dennis Murphy; Paul Picknelly; Nate Costa, President of the Springfield Thunderbirds; and representatives from the many city departments and the Springfield Public Schools were also in attendance.
This is the 29th anniversary for the Rays of Hope and the 14th year the city of Springfield is holding the annual Pink and Denim Day. Last year, during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, city employees collectively raised over $10,000 to support the Rays of Hope. This year, city employees raised approximately $5,000. Mayor Sarno presented a proclamation declaring the month of October, 2022 as ‘Brest Cancer Awareness Month’ in the city of Springfield.
Mayor Sarno said, “We all have family, friends and loved ones who have battled this challenge. I want to thank Assistant HR Director Caitlyn Julius, my Director of Constituent Services Molly Shea and Communications Director Bill Baker for their efforts in coordinating this annual Pink and Denim Day event with the Rays of Hope. My administration is proud to stand with those families and Baystate Medical Center in continuing to support the efforts in raising funds to find a cure and beat this medical challenge. I want to congratulate this year’s Rays of Hope Chair Lindsey Bubar! Special shoutout to our very own Al Rodriguez and his lovely wife Jackie who were the Rays of Hope chairs for 2020/2021. This is a special and meaningful event for many city employees and their families who have been affected by breast cancer, including my staff with Mini Marrero, Carolyn Jackson, and my former chief of staff Denise Jordan who also served as the past Rays of Hope chairwomen in 2018-2019 too.”
The 29th annual Rays of Hope Walk and Run will kick off on Sunday, October 22, 2022 at the Temple Beth El on Dickinson Street and continue into Forest Park.
