Smithtown Leaders Go Bald For St. Baldrick's

From the Town of Smithtown: On Saturday, March 10th, Smithtown Councilman Tom Lohmann and Superintendent of highways Robert Murphy said goodbye to their precious manly manes during a special St Baldrick’s Shave-a-thon event held at Napper Tandy’s in Smithtown. The two were a part of a team to raise close to $11,000 for childhood cancer research, in memory of Matthew Gonzalez who passed away on May 21, 2009 from non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Team Matt Gonzales started with four Shavees; Gregory Gonzalez, Ron Leli, Councilman Tom Lohmann and Superintendent Robert Murphy. However the group quickly doubled as the team convinced family and friends who were there for moral support to go bald or go home.

"As a survivor of Cancer, I still can not fathom how our most precious children can endure what I did as a grown man. A child should have the world at his or her grasp and deserves to believe that they can accomplish anything they can dream. Unfortunately, research programs for childhood cancers are grossly underfunded. So if that means I put on a brave face and kiss my hair goodbye hoping to help fund a cure someday... well then I'd gladly do it every day I am alive."

This is Councilman Lohmann’s 8th year participating in St. Baldrick’s events. Together with his teammates, he has help to fundraise over $70,000 which will go to fund research for childhood cancers, which are extremely underfunded.

First photo: (left to right) Ron Leli, Brian Tetrault (TOS Highway), Superintendent Robert Murphy and Councilman Tom Lohmann; Images courtesy of the Town of Smithtown