National Volunteer Week: Saint Valentine's Day Luncheon & Fashion Show

The world is hugged by the faithful arms of volunteers.

~Terri Guillemets

Jim McKinnis and his family at the 2013 Saint Valentine's
Day Luncheon and Fashion Show.

This week is National Volunteer Week and while The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is thankful for its volunteers year round, we are taking this opportunity to highlight seven outstanding volunteers that help make the North Texas chapter run so efficiently.

Jim McKinnis has been a high level volunteer for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for more than a decade.  He first heard about LLS when his son, CJ, was diagnosed with a blood cancer in 2000 on his 13th birthday.  Jim and his family relied on www.lls.org as a way to learn more about CJ's diagnosis and treatment.  A year into CJ's treatment, Jim and his wife, Sue, decided to get more involved with LLS through the Team In Training program.  Shortly after completing a triathlon in Maui, Jim met a LLS board member for the North Texas Chapter at a party and offered to get further involved. 

He was quickly connected to the Saint Valentine's Day Luncheon and Fashion Show where his experience and resources in marketing were put to work in designing invitations and event materials for the event.  Jim continues to be the driving creative force behind the many looks of the Saint Valentine's Day Luncheon, now in planning for its 30th year.

The North Texas board of trustees took notice of Jim's work and asked him to serve on the board.  While serving in this role, he was tapped by the National LLS Office to help develop a national awareness campaign for LLS.  He, with the help of the LLS marketing team, created the "Relentless for the Cure" campaign which had been in use until recently when the Someday Is Today campaign was released.

Jim is selfless in donating his time and talent to whatever need arises within LLS.  We are so thankful for Jim.