The Colby Bubb FamilyColby Bubb is 13 years old from Carlisle, PA. He was diagnosed with stage 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma a muscular cancer on Dec 28, 2015. It is a rare form of childhood cancer. He had a 9cm (softball size) tumor in the right side of his face, head and neck. Over the next year Colby would receive 53 chemo treatments, 28 days of radiation, have a feeding tube put in due to the serve burns to his mouth and throat from the radiation. On Dec 1, 2016 he received his last chemo treatment and on Dec 19, 2016 after having a PET scan he was told his was cancer free. He would spend a year and a half in physical therapy to get his whole body working again. This included his mouth which he could hardly open. He was released from physical therapy in February of this year.
Colby will be in eight grade this fall at Yellow Breeches Middle School in Boiling Springs. He loves to play Xbox, golf, wrestle and play baseball. He was able to continue to play baseball through his treatment but sadly he was unable to wrestle. We are happy to say that after being off the wrestling mat for over 2 years he made the courageous decision to join his junior high team this past season. He continues to play for his rec team in Boiling Springs and his travel team The Keystone Nationals. Colby loves to attend THON at Penn State and visit with his organization Boulevard. He also participates in his school's mini-mini-thon and many Four Diamonds events. He shares his story to help bring awareness to Four Diamonds and Childhood Cancer in the hopes that some day no child will hear the words "You have cancer". From the Bubb family thank you for all you do to help kids like Colby and their families. #FTK®
Natalie Dameshek is a central Pennsylvania native and became a Four Diamonds mom in July of 2013 when her daughter, Emilia, was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, at age 9. Emilia spent 2 years and 9 months in treatment at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital. She beat Ewing’s but developed two other cancers related to treatment. Emilia succumbed to the side effects of treatment during her third cancer fight, or as she put it, Cancer 3.0, in May of 2016 just 3 months shy of her 13th birthday. Natalie has a unique perspective as a mom and Four Diamonds family who spent over 200 nights in the hospital and was at her daughter’s side during three different chemotherapy protocols. She proudly serves on the Family Advisory Council at the hospital where she was recently awarded a $10K grant for the hospital by her employer for her time and service to the council.
Natalie, her husband, Mitchell and their son, Max live in Lemoyne, PA and continue to be actively involved with Four Diamonds and have told their story at Mini-THON®’s at Red Land, Cedar Cliff and Garnet Valley. Their family has been paired with Club Gymnastics for 5 years and frequently makes the trip to State College to visit their organization and to jump on the trampolines with the gymnasts. The Damesheks express their sincerest thanks to every student and advisor for all their hard work and time commitment to ensure every cub gets to grow up to be a Nittany Lion.
Kathleen McGrawFollowing nearly 14 years in New York City (NYC), Kathleen McGraw returned to her home state of Pennsylvania in late 2012 to work for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts (HE&R), a premier entertainment and hospitality company that honors the legacy of its founder, Milton S. Hershey. At HE&R, she serves as Director of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility. In this role at HE&R, Kathleen oversees communications efforts for the Resorts division, including all Spas and Dining offerings, internal/employee and executive communications and corporate branding. She helps lead the company's philanthropic giving efforts and community relations efforts.
Recently, she spearheaded the company's most recent Corporate Social Responsibility summary.
Prior to her appointment at HE&R, Kathleen was a Senior Vice President at GolinHarris in NYC where she worked on a variety of accounts including Energizer Personal Care, Slim-Fast, and Hartz. Prior to GolinHarris, Kathleen was a Vice President at Edelman where she led the Barilla account and oversaw HSBC Bank’s Premier Banking PR initiatives.
From January 2006 to February 2010, Kathleen was a Vice President at Emanate overseeing key lines of business for Bank of America, Celebrity Cruises and Embassy Suites accounts. Kathleen came to Emanate from IBM’s Systems and Technology Group where she served as global media relations specialist for the company’s iSeries server division and handled media relations for the company’s technology partnership at the US Open Tennis tournament.
Prior to joining IBM, Kathleen was a manager at Burson-Marsteller where she focused on media relations and account management for Accenture, WWII Memorial, US Trust, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and United Way of NYC.
Kathleen started her public relations career in NYC at Martin PR in 1999 where she worked on Bank One, Olympus, and Seiko. Before moving to NYC in 1999, Kathleen served as Communications Associate for the United Way of York County, PA.
Throughout her career, Kathleen has led programs and initiatives that earned numerous industry accolades including the Big Apple Award, SABRE, Silver Anvil, Bulldog Awards, and the HSMAI Adrian Award.
Kathleen is very involved in volunteer activities with The Vista School, American Red Cross, Hershey Community Garden and United Way.
A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Kathleen earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Spanish. She also studied literature at Cambridge University.
JoAnn has been with the events company, Shumaker PDT since 2015. Before joining Shumaker, JoAnn owned and operated her own flower shop. As an award-winning floral designer for more than 30 years, JoAnn has designed flowers for celebrities, ambassadors, and a previous First Lady of the United States.
“I love working with the talented professionals on the Shumaker team. Each team member is an expert in their field, and they are always willing to share their knowledge and educate other team members. What they create as a collaborative team is astounding. I also value how community-minded each person is. Being an active part of the Lancaster community is a priority for each staff member.”
Dustin has been with the events company, Shumaker PDT, since 2012. Working in the wedding and event business since 2000 means Dustin has a deep knowledge of the field. That experience and his creative design sense make him an outstanding asset to the team.
“I enjoy delving into the logistics and details of an event, as the details are what make a good event a great event! Working with a fantastically talented group of people every single day creates an environment perfect for creative collaboration. Tapping into the best parts of each of us, we combine years of experience in design, fabrication, and logistics to provide our clients with top-notch service.”
Barry BramBarry has worked in Student Affairs at Penn State for 23 years, serving in a variety of roles within both Residence Life, Union and Student Activities, and Student Affairs. He currently serves as the Senior Director of Student Engagement Programs. Additionally, as a part of his responsibilities, Barry advised Penn State's Dance Marathon (THON) from 2008-2013. He has worked with student leaders throughout his professional career and looks forward to discussing challenges and opportunities that come with advising student organizations.
Barry is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. He has degrees from Miami University in Ohio and The University of Vermont.
Corrine baumanCorrine Bauman has been the lead advisor for Camp Hill High School Mini-THON for the last 4 years. Growing up in a Penn State family, Corrine has known about THON her entire life, in fact, her dad attended the first THON in 1973. She attended Bloomsburg University and was part of the committee to start Relay for Life on campus.
Corrine became the advisor for Mini-THON when it first started at Camp Hill in 2015. In just 3 years, she has helped guide her students to raise over $150,000 for Four Diamonds. Working with the leadership team and watching them grow as budding philanthropists as well as set goals and continue to reach them is one of her favorite things about being an advisor.
She is a Special Education teacher at Camp Hill Middle School and co-teaches 6th grade math.
MIKE BARBERMike Barber has been the advisor for the Northern Middle School Mini-THON® since its inaugural year, 2011. The NMS Mini-THON® has become a premiere event of the school year, drawing hundreds of students and scores of volunteers from the Northern York County School District. Mike has guided students from its inception from an initial goal of $ 3,000.00 to a Mini-THON® that has raised more than $ 238,000.00 in 7 years.
Mike has taught seventh grade English at Northern Middle School for the past 12 years. Besides teaching English and advising Mini-THON®, he is also a Student Council, Spelling Bee and Aevidum Advisor.
The Mini-THON Student Leadership Council, comprised of a select group of student leaders, provides feedback and input to the Four Diamonds staff on the Mini-THON program. Council members meet with Four Diamonds staff members to provide recommendations on program elements and assist in developing solutions for program challenges. Council members also serve as representatives of the students participating in Mini-THONs and advocates for Four Diamonds and Mini-THON. Finally, these students provide guidance on current trends with youth and their peers to help grow the Mini-THON program.
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