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(Left to right) UT Health Science Center President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, dedicates a patient reception area at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio to honor Vulcan Materials Company. Shown with President Henrich are longtime Vulcan Materials employees Thomas A. McFadden, Pam Jones and Pat Bendele, along with CTRC Executive Director Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D.
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SAN ANTONIO (Nov. 25, 2009) — The CTRC’s sixth-floor patient reception area now bears the name of Vulcan Materials Company, a San Antonio business whose employees for 16 years have organized a creative family event to raise funds for the Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Proceeds from the Vulcan Materials Funshoot, held annually since 1994, this year reached the $1.5 million mark, announced William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, president of the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, at a ceremony Nov. 20 that unveiled the commemorative sign.

“When you’re all out there having a great time making those clay pigeons bite the dust, you are responsible for saving lives,” CTRC Executive Director Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D., told Vulcan Materials employees and guests. Dr. Thompson also is chair of the Department of Urology and holder of the Glenda and Gary Woods Distinguished Chair in Genitourologic Oncology and the Henry B. and Edna Smith Dielman Memorial Chair in Urologic Science.

Vulcan Funshoot a labor of love
Longtime Vulcan employee Thomas A. McFadden spoke with emotion about a time in 2004 when “I spent six months in this building having my life saved.”

McFadden, procurement leader for the company’s Southwest Division, was treated for head and neck cancer and now, five years later, is considered cancer-free. “A lot of love and sharing has helped develop the Vulcan Funshoot into the great success that it has become,” he remarked before the dedication.

The 16th annual sporting-clay shooting competition, held Sept. 12 at the National Shooting Complex, raised more than $147,000, bringing the cumulative total to $1.5 million.

New events debut at 16th Funshoot
About 400 people attended the 2009 Vulcan Materials Funshoot, which was organized entirely by Vulcan employees and their family members. This year employees initiated a couple of add-on events. Several employees spent their lunch hours making a quilt that brought $500 at the live auction. The auction featured dozens of prizes that employees solicited from donors. At another new event, a FunHike on Aug. 29, 17 employees walked five miles to raise more than $4,000.

Leaders from Vulcan Materials Southwest Division who participated in the Funshoot were (left to right) President J. Thomas Hill; Pat Bendele, statewide transportation general manager; Thomas A. McFadden, procurement leader; and Darren Hicks, director of human resources.

Vulcan Materials Southwest Division established the Funshoot to assist CTRC, the region’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center, in its mission to conquer cancer through research, prevention and treatment. This year’s event fielded 70 teams, with team sponsorships starting at $1,000, and 100 percent of the net proceeds benefiting the CTRC.

Eight teams, the highest number in Funshoot history, contributed $5,000 each to participate. These platinum sponsors were Alamo One, AT&T, Capitol Aggregates, Cemex, Komatsu (dealers: Waukesha Pearce, Kirby-Smith), Midstate Environmental Services, Ryan Construction and Urban Concrete.

Vulcan Materials Company is the nation’s largest producer of construction aggregates, and a major producer of asphalt mix and concrete.

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The Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is one of the nation's leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of the elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center, and is one of the only three in Texas. A world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer, the CTRC Institute for Drug Development is internationally recognized for conducting one of the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug programs in the world, and participates in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.net.