ATLANTIC CITY – Determined paddleboarders tested their mettle to help raise more than $85,000 for the Dean Randazzo Cancer Foundation Saturday, June 9. Local businesses provided more than $15,000 through in-kind donations.
Despite an impending thunderstorm, more than 100 people participated across four events at the 11th annual Paddle For A Cause presented by Curexa Pharmacy in honor and memory of Karen Grant. The event began and ended at at Golden Nugget Atlantic City.
Cash prizes of $800 for first place, $350 for second place and $150 for third place were awarded for the 22.5-mile race around Absecon Island in the following categories: men’s open prone, men’s 14-foot and longer stand up paddleboard, women’s open prone and women’s 14-foot and longer stand up paddleboard.
There was an 8-mile race and also 4-mile and 8-mile noncompetitive back bay paddles that go to The Wonder Bar in Atlantic City.
This year’s event was extra special as it was dedicated in memory and honor of Karen Grant, a trustee of the foundation who spent countless hours volunteering with the Dean Randazzo Cancer Foundation. It was remarkable how she was so focused on helping others while she was afflicted with cancer and consistently was a top fundraiser at the event.
Jon Baker of Egg Harbor Township, an artist and foundation board member, won the Karen Grant top fundraiser award with his $15,720 in donations. Todd DeSatnick, Paul Giunta, Adam Walcoff and Michele Barbera rounded out the top five fundraisers.
The winner of the 22.5-mile women’s OC-1 division was Kathy Vallen of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania who completed with a time of 4:38:17 in an outrigger canoe. Vallen is a stage 3A breast cancer survivor and was the first woman to finish the race. She said she dedicated the race in memory of Marie Buyce who died of cancer this past January. Buyce’s son Jeffrey paddled prone in the event last year in while his mother was fighting cancer. 
Jason Chew of Ocean City was the winner of the 22.5-mile race in the men’s standup paddleboard division with a 14-foot board with a time of 4 hours, 36 seconds. There were two records broken this year in the 22.5-mile race; Lisa Hertz Malick of Melbourne Beach, Florida completed the course in 5:07:44 in the Women’s Prone Stock 18-49 years old division and Louanne Harris of New York City broke the course record by winning the 18-49-year-old women’s standup paddleboard 14-foot category with a time of 4:48:51. The fastest overall finisher in the 22.5-mile race was Jason Malick with a time of 3:31:48 in the Men’s Surf Ski Division.
The foundation promotes cancer awareness and assists individuals battling cancer both emotionally and financially. To date, the foundation has raised more than $700,000 and donates 90 percent of its funds to individuals and organizations, including the Ruth Newman Shapiro Cancer Fund, Shore Medical Center Cancer Center, Gilda’s Club of South Jersey and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of South Jersey Cape Regional Cancer Center and AtlantiCare Cancer Center.
The foundation was created in 2001 when Dean Randazzo, a professional surfer from Atlantic City, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes. Since successfully battling the disease four times, Randazzo continues his competitive professional surfing career, proudly representing the Garden State all over the world. For more information, see TheDRCF.org
