Speaker Larry DeSpain

Date – Time

April 10, 2024 – 7:30 AM - 8:00 AM

Location

Sugar Creek Country Club
420 Sugar Creek Blvd
Sugar Land, TX 77478 US

Additional Information

Lawrence A. DeSpain
Snowdrop Foundation

My life since graduation from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1967 may not have been as exciting or impressive as some of my classmates, but I certainly have had a very interesting career and fulfilling life.  I retired in 2007 and am busier now than I ever was when I was working!  
Shortly after I retired, I was working as a consultant on a project destined for Alaska when my son-in-law ran the Chevron Houston Marathon in January, 2007 and after he finished he suggested that we run the marathon together the following year.  I had ruptured my Achilles tendon in 2005 and during the 7 month rehabilitation had started running on a treadmill.  I had been a “jogger” back in the late 70’s and early 80’s but had stopped when I tore my ACL.  While I was on the track team my last two years at Kings Point, I only had to run around the track once.  I was a sprinter not a distance runner.  However, I was a little intrigued by the thought and committed to run the Aramco Half Marathon the following January.  We both joined a training group named Fort Bend Fit.  Each Saturday from July until the race in January, the group met for a long distance run that progresses throughout the season and a weekly seminar.  The marathon includes a program named Run For A Reason where runners commit to solicit donations for selected charities.  
One Saturday a gentleman named Kevin Kline presented the Snowdrop Foundation, a pediatric cancer charity that he and his wife had started.  Raising money to fight pediatric cancer interested me because of an experience I had in 2003. A lady that worked for me knew that I was a regular blood donor and asked if I would be willing to donate platelettes for a child who had had a bone marrow transplant.  Breanna was a niece of this lady’s friend and had been diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of 3 months.  She was now 18 months old and had received a bone marrow transplant from her father.  I donated platelets every other week for several months and Breanna is now 22 years old!  I have never met Breanna and probably never will, but her mother did send me a picture a couple of years ago from a trip to Disneyland.  Up until that point in my life, I was unaware that children suffered from cancer.
I was amazed that Doctors were able to treat and cure patients this young, so when Kevin presented that the Snowdrop Foundation raised funds for pediatric cancer research and scholarships for cancer survivors, I was hooked.  The first year I astounded myself by raising $3,400, and while I was the top fundraiser for the Snowdrop Foundation, I knew I could do more.  Starting in 2010, I was in the top three individual fundraisers in the Run For A Reason program for twelve years and was the top individual fund raiser six times.  As of the end of last year, the Snowdrop Foundation has contributed in excess of $1,400,000 to Texas Children’s Cancer Center for cancer research and has also awarded 995 scholarships totaling over $2,700,000 to high school graduates who are either fighting cancer or are a cancer survivor.
In 2010 I started Bling for Bravery within the Snowdrop Foundation.  Bling for Bravery repurposes medals that runners receive for finishing various races.  I collect the medals, replace the ribbon with a custom designed Snowdrop Foundation ribbon and then distribute the medals to the patients at Texas Children’s Cancer Center several times during the year to reward them for their bravery and courage.  The children are thrilled to receive the medals, and I love seeing the smiles on their faces.  I refer to it as putting big smiles on little faces.
That year I also joined the Snowdrop Honor Team.  Under this program, runners are paired with patients to support each other in their respective “run” to the finish line.  For runners it is finishing a race.  For the patients it is ringing the bell indicating that they have been declared cancer free.
Other activities that Snowdrop has are the Derricks and Diamonds softball tournament held at the Big League Dreams complex in League City.  There is an associated Gala later in the year after the tournament which includes a silent and live auction.
Snowdrop has a Scholarship Luncheon each year to recognize the recipients of scholarships for the year.  Typically, only the local recipients attend although last year 85 scholarships were awardee in 20 different states.
The other popular event is Washfest which is a washers tournament.  This year it was held in East Bernard but tends to move location from year to year.  In addition to the people playing washers, there is nonstop live entertainment.
The event with the largest participation is the Snowdrop Ultra 55 Hour Race and Relay.  Starting at 7:00am on December 30 and finishing at 2:00pm on January 1, individual runners attempt to run 100 or more miles during the 55 hours.  The record for an individual male is over 250 miles and for a female is over 200 miles. The relay teams commit to always have one runner on the track and run as many miles as they can.  The capacity is 150 individual runners and 15 relay teams.  The event typically sells out almost immediately. The ultimate goal, however, is for the runners to raise money to support Snowdrop’s mission.
Snowdrop was founded in June of 2006 and I joined in July of 2007.  To say it has been a rewarding experience would be an understatement.