Kauai Resident Ron Fleet has found a cause to peddle for — he is in the top 1 percent of fund-raising cyclists for Lance Armstrong’s cancer research/fighting organization ‘LiveStrong’ and plans to be the top fund-raiser in the entire country
Kauai Resident Ron Fleet has found a cause to peddle for — he is in the top 1 percent of fund-raising cyclists for Lance Armstrong’s cancer research/fighting organization ‘LiveStrong’ and plans to be the top fund-raiser in the entire country in the coming year. After losing his own mother to ovarian cancer in 2000, he has cycled hundreds of miles, raised nearly $100,000, and is still going strong.
“I’ve always been a cyclist,” said Fleet, “and I knew who Lance Armstrong was after his first Tour de France win in ‘99. But it wasn’t until my mom passed away that someone gave me Armstrong’s book called ‘It’s Not About the Bike.’” Fleet read the book and soon became passionate about the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s vision for cancer survivors, public education and research.
“When I learned how they get their funding, through fund-raising cyclists, I knew I had to get involved,” said Fleet. “Each year the foundation has 100-mile bike rides where participants ride, and get sponsors to make donations for the miles that are ridden. I had to do something to give back and this was a perfect match for me. My first ride was in Austin, Texas, in October of 2004. I rode 100 miles with Lance and about 6,500 other cyclists and raised about $7,500 for the foundation. In 2005 I was back in Austin bringing with me over $10,000 I had collected. In 2006 they had a ride in Denver. My son lives there so off I went to ride 100 miles in the mountains. That was grueling but of the 4,000 cyclists that started only 150 of us finished the entire 100 miles. I also had fund-raised just over $15,000 putting me in the top 1 percent of all 12,000 riders/fund-raisers from all over the country and was invited to Austin for an intimate gathering of just 120 of us and Lance,” writes Fleet.
“This year I’m at it again. My goal is to become the top fund-raiser in the country and all with the help of the people of Kaua‘i,” he writes, hoping that he will be able to extend his fund-raising to people outside of his real estate business, Fleet has already garnered help from King Auto Center, Mokihana Travel and Bicycle John, who are offering prizes to those who donate.
“Each year my fund-raising efforts have been limited mostly to people in my own industry. They have been so generous so I want to publicly thank all the Realtors out there. But this year, to get the most publicity, the good folks at King Auto Center have put a 2007 Honda Civic up as a grand prize in a lucky guess promotion. The car is on display at Kukui Grove by the food court filled with empty water bottles of varying sizes. You guess exactly how many ounces of water all the bottles could hold and win that car. The next closest guess will get two round-trip tickets to any West Coast destination that Hawaiian Airlines flies to, courtesy of Mokihana Travel, next closest guess behind that one gets a $400 Trek mountain bike from Bicycle John’s in Lihu‘e. None of that generates donations though, only awareness of the foundation. I am currently soliciting businesses to offer a discount in a coupon book I am creating and printing at my expense. I will have these discount books, with thousands of dollars in discounts available in my LiveStrong booth at our county fair. Anyone who makes a $20 or greater donation to the LAF will receive one of these books. So any businesses that wish to be a part of this, it is at no charge to you,” writes Fleet.
To contact Fleet, e-mail: ronfleet@hotmail.com. The Web site to make donations to the Lance Armstrong Foundation is www.icycle2beatcancer.com. For more information on the LiveStrong Foundation and what it does to battle the epidemic of cancer visit www.LAF.org.
