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Small Lake City
Small Talk, Big City
Join host Erik Nilsson as he interviews the entrepreneurs, creators, and builders making Salt Lake City the best place it can be. Covering topics such as business, politics, art, food, and more you will get to know the amazing people behind the scenes investing their time and money to improve the place we call home.
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Small Lake City
S1, E92: American Cancer Society - Brook & Susan
Donate Here: https://acscan.donordrive.com/participants/3216
Fork Cancer Tickets Here: https://utah.acscanforkcancer.org/food-drink-entertainment-2/ (Tastemaker Erik Nilsson at checkout)
Susan Gatrell and Brook Carlisle from the American Cancer Society pull back the curtain on what this 112-year-old organization actually does beyond its familiar name recognition. Their passionate insights reveal how ACS serves as the essential but often invisible scaffolding supporting both cancer patients and the healthcare system itself.
Did you know the American Cancer Society conducted the groundbreaking research that established the connection between smoking and cancer? This revelation sparked worldwide policy changes that have saved countless lives – from banning smoking on airplanes to creating smoke-free restaurants. It's just one example of how ACS operates at multiple levels simultaneously to create lasting change.
The conversation brings to light Utah's Hope Lodge, celebrating its tenth anniversary as the second busiest such facility in the nation. This sanctuary provides free lodging for patients traveling more than 40 miles for treatment, creating not just a place to stay but a community where patients and caregivers find understanding among others walking the same difficult path. At just $70 per night in operating costs, donations directly translate to tangible support for patients at their most vulnerable moments.
Against a backdrop of threatened research funding and alarming increases in cancer diagnoses among younger populations, the urgency of ACS's mission becomes clear. With over 80% of donations directly impacting patients through research, advocacy, prevention programs, and direct services, ACS touches approximately 55 million people annually. From gas cards for transportation to patient navigators guiding the newly diagnosed, these services extend far beyond what most people realize.
The upcoming Fort Cancer event represents an innovative approach to fundraising – creating an experience people would enjoy regardless of the cause while supporting critical advocacy work. With unlimited food and drinks from local vendors, this community gathering transforms giving into a celebration.
Join us next Friday at the Gallivan Center for Fort Cancer, where your ticket directly supports ACS's mission to reduce suffering and death from cancer – a disease that may not discriminate, but an organization determined to meet it with equal force through research, advocacy, and compassion.
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What is up everybody and welcome back to another episode of the Small Lake City Podcast.
Speaker 1:I'm your host, eric Nilsson, and this week we are joined by Brooke Carlisle and Susan Gatrell, both directors at the American Cancer Society.
Speaker 1:A lot of people have heard about American Cancer Society, or ACS, and know that it is a nonprofit that helps with cancer patients and cancer survivors, but a lot of people have questions about what do they actually do, what do they support, what do they fund and what do they do for the local community. And thankfully, these are the things that we touch base on the episode today. But we also talk about the event coming up next Friday for cancer at the Gallivan Center, where you can join me and them and a lot of the other tastemakers and members of the community where we have a fundraiser where we can party together to help support cancer and cancer research. So in case you want to join me there, the link is in the show notes for this episode where you can buy tickets or donate directly to the American Cancer Society, and that will help me in my fundraising efforts as a tastemaker as well. But let's jump into it and hear from me, brooke and Susan about ACS and how we can help support our community.
Speaker 2:I'm sure Gwen would love it. It's just that you want to raise her.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wait, you have a child named Gwen. I do, that's my mother's name. Oh, great name. Is it Gwen or Gwendolyn? It's Gwendolyn, okay, my mother's name, oh, great name is is it gwen or gwendoline? It's gwendoline, okay, my mother's a gwen, okay, and I so. My niece's middle name is gwen, but her name is like kate, gwen swindle oh nice and so it's ironic because, like people like, oh, is it katherine gwendoline, right?
Speaker 1:it's like no, no, no heart consonants, only kate gwen swindle. Yeah, I love that. She's great. She is a sour patch kid ball of energy. Every time time I see her I'm like, hey, kate, can I brush your hair? She's like, no, I'm like I wish you would, but it would have been so cute One day.
Speaker 1:Pick your battles, yeah, but I'm excited, well, because it's funny, and I'll probably take this part out because it's funny. Well, not funny, it's just a thing. So once Avery reached out to once upon a time being like hey, congratulations, you've been nominated to be a tastemaker, tastemaster, tastemaker yeah, see, and we can take them out. See, there's all the both in a podcast. I can say what all I want and just take it out and wait. And at first I'm like is this like a fraudulent email? Is there a king in Africa trying to get money from me? And then I, so my family's all in medicine, for the most part mom's pediatrician, dad's- okay stepdad's pediatrician.
Speaker 1:My dad was a pd, uh, pediatric neuropsychologist. Oh wow, sister's a pa and I look at numbers and spreadsheets in. So I was like, is this legit? Like yeah. And they're like, oh yeah, like acl, like yeah, very well known like organization in medical community and cancer community. I was like okay, cool, um. And then it was fun, just like hear more about it, and like I mean I'll always try to use my platform that I have for as much good as I can, yeah, um, and bad as I can, let's have fun with it um, but and but.
Speaker 1:Like I feel bad because, like when they real first year, I'm like I'm in, I can do this, and then just like life just was like right. I thought we'd just get really, really busy. And so I did text her because I went to the there's like the event that they announced it at pierpont and like right before that I was like, hey, it wasn't. Like I can't do this, like I'm so sorry, I'm spread so thin. If there's one thing that just can't be it right now, it's this. And she's like in her typical avril where she's like I'm here to support you, like I will send the email, I will do this, you give me the list, you don't like?
Speaker 1:yeah go well exactly, and so it was nice to have that and especially just like learn more about because, like acs, I mean I think it's a thing that a lot of people in theory know about, like yeah, I mean it's.
Speaker 1:I mean, even if you just say, like american cancer society, people like, oh yeah, some sort of non-profit, of course answer yeah right, yeah but it was fun to just learn more about the mission, be involved, meet some of the faces and get to know more of the faces better about it. So I'm excited to talk about it because, like not only like the organization itself, and then we'll also talk about Fort Cancer that we have coming up about next weekend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a week from Friday.
Speaker 1:yeah, I almost said it's Friday, it's not, it's Wednesday. Wow, that's how the we got that, um. But because I always look and admire people who dedicate their professional career, their towards an organization like that, because like there's I mean, if you go off on a tangent about, uh, late stage capitalism that we're in and how the moral line between money and moral values gets blurred a lot in today's society, so I I'll always admire and look up to those people that do keep it on their back of being like no, no, no, there's people who need help in a very vulnerable time of their life and we're going to be the organization to help them. So, long story short, thank you for all that you do, absolutely, and excited to hear more, not only about, I mean, acs, but both of your stories of kind, of what brought you and kept you in this. So thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having us, yeah.
Speaker 1:No, I mean I'm excited for it because we have Susan and Brooke from ACS. I'll let them introduce themselves kind of their roles and we can go kind of one by one of how we ended up sitting across from each other on a couch today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, perfect, do you want to go?
Speaker 3:first Sure.
Speaker 1:Do it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, my name is Susan Gartel. I'm the director for the state of Utah for ACS. I've been here almost two years as far as with ACS Cool Been in Salt Lake for about six years now, which I'm excited about as well. But I think, just like everyone you know, I had three grandparents die of cancer, so only one was spared A pretty terrible family history and have tested positive for a couple gene mutations that actually make me more susceptible to it as well, which I kind of recently discovered.
Speaker 3:So a little bit sobering, but I think, yeah, it's just the ubiquity of cancer just makes it that I think you can't really find a person that doesn't have some sort of tie. So my maternal grandfather specifically, I kind of watched him die within a week, just kind of slowly getting worse and worse over, I guess not slowly, pretty rapidly. So that was when I was a teenager and was a very impactful experience for me. And, yeah, I've always been in nonprofits. I don't know why. I just like getting paid a little not very well, no, but I do. I feel like it is something that I can use, some of the things that I'm good at to make a difference and this is obviously a worthy cause.
Speaker 1:Because I think. I mean, I was looking over your LinkedIn. Was it MS? No, it wasn't MS, it was, was it?
Speaker 3:We'll come back to MS. I've got it. So what other nonprofits have you worked for in the past? I mean, I have a weird journey. I was actually a professional ballet dancer for 15 years. That was my first nonprofit that I worked for. Talk about not getting paid well, but I loved it. Obviously that was something I dreamed about doing. But as a dancer you are kind of a commodity and so interacting with boards and donors was something that we were asked to do pretty often, and having galas to be is a fundraiser, but that really kind of. You know, I knew that the dancing was a short career. I actually wanted to be a lawyer. I got a degree in political science and just kind of life meanders, and it kind of led me into it.
Speaker 3:It's not linear and you knew from the age of 10 that you were going to be the director for Utah, for the Dance Society, knew from the age of 10 that you were going to be the director for Utah, for the Kansas Society, exactly, yeah, I think right, but I just kind of been open to all those different experiences and yeah, they've led me here and that kind of skill set of, I think, being in front of people, not being shy in public, like all of that performance stuff. I think the fake it till you make it, sometimes asking for money can be intimidating and you know, just kind of pretending like it didn't bother me until it really didn't bother me, you know. So that was my strange kind of journey into fundraising, at least in nonprofit work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you mentioned you're from Arizona originally. Yes, and then hopped around a bunch of different places. I mean, what were those places and what made you eventually be like know what? I agree with this guy bring him young.
Speaker 3:This is the place um, yeah, so I uh, phoenix, chicago, milwaukee, sacramento, bozeman, um, is that it here? Those are the main ones. Okay, yeah, and I think, uh, this is I was telling you before this is definitely the most beautiful place I've lived in, um, even compared to montana, which is unpopular. When I tell people from bozeman that, uh, our mountains are just yeah, for someone who loves being outdoors, which I do uh, it's, it's kind of hard to compete with um, and I also I have my sister. She moved here, also as a transplant and so, yeah, I feel like just kind of finding the niche here. There's just a lot of things that I feel like make Salt Lake kind of a unique place to live all the negatives and they're so kind of overbearing if it's like the focus of a lot of things.
Speaker 1:But then I always love talking to people, especially people who have had more than I mean a handful of places that they've lived, because they're like, listen, like, if you want outdoors and like accessibility to it, hard to beat, but then I mean even like on the topic of montana, which means still harder to get to. But then like seeing salt lake, like with the economy that it has, and like this metropolitan area and like the jobs that it does, it's really hard to beat. Yep, um and like I was even in LA earlier this week and it was interesting. Like there's one co-worker I have, he lives in Baltimore, used to live in Colorado Springs, and he's like so, like from like where you live, like where's the closest?
Speaker 1:Like trail, like if you were to just be like I'm gonna go hike or go trail around, trail run, I'm like five minutes because I'm right, I'm like in Marmalade District, so I can go to the bottom of the City Creek, I can go. I mean there's like a handful of places I can just go disappear to and then I mean if I expand that, like what?
Speaker 3:10, and you can be, yeah, in the wilderness, totally. Yeah, it's hard to be.
Speaker 1:And so how did you end up joining ACS? Did they come to you? Did you go to them?
Speaker 3:We came to each other. Yeah, I was working as a director for another nonprofit and you know was looking for more mission alignment and ACS was hiring, so we kind of uh, yeah, got got connected and yeah, it's been a, it's been a good match.
Speaker 3:I think that there's a lot of work. We have um. You know, from an oncology lens like the, the teams, um, and the expertise that we have along the Wasatch front are. I mean, I remember being in Bozeman and people were getting airlifted to Salt Lake. I mean, if we look at Vegas and the population there and what a desert they have as far as healthcare and quality healthcare, we are just incredibly lucky to have that, and especially from an oncology perspective as well. So you know, Utah is, salt Lake specifically is that magnet. So there's so many services that we need that we're providing services for people from a variety of different states. I mean we can talk more about our Hope Lodge in a bit, but we're the second largest or second busiest Hope Lodge in the country, second only to like the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and I think that speaks to, you know, the quality of care we have, where we're attracting people to the Wasatch Front for the care once they get that diagnosis.
Speaker 1:And that's one thing I love about. I mean it goes dovetails well with what I was saying about the economy and like the amenities that we have as a city. I mean even I guess again just double-clicking on oncology I mean we have Huntsman Cancer right there. We have the University of Utah right next to it and I mean both my mom and stepdad both went to medical school there, and so it's like interesting to just hear about.
Speaker 1:And I like what you were saying about, like the mission alignment, where I mean it's got to be hard to fundraise for things that either A doesn't necessarily touch you personally as much as other things and like unfortunately, I mean I can't think of a single person that hasn't been touched personally by cancer in their own life, and so like that's one thing before we jump over to brooke is like the thing that you have acs be an organization that I wanted to partner with is because, like I mean just using my experiences, like in college, one of my, my best friends, tanner too, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Speaker 1:His senior year of college had to take a pause and I mean my day was literally go to camp, go to school on campus, go hop in my car, go drive up to Huntsman Cancer and go sit with him and eat with him, I mean, do whatever I needed to during the first part, and then slowly just watched him go to chemo the entire time. And then, at that almost exact same time, one of my other friends from school, brynn Sorrell she, I mean at first I'm like, oh, you have like something in your back going on. We don't really know what's going on. And then they're like, well, we think it's this cancer, we're going to treat you for that. And then came back like, actually, it's this really rare tumor, tumor and you probably have like three months left. And then so she passed away february 2020.
Speaker 2:um, I mean like 27 28 years actually probably less than that anyway um and so it's like.
Speaker 1:But then it's like hard when I talk to friends and it's like almost all of my friends these days have these stories of like oh, my friends have had cancer yeah, and even comparing to like I mean my older siblings or my parents.
Speaker 1:I mean, like, how many friends do you have that have had cancer? Yeah, and even comparing to like I mean my older siblings or my parents. I mean, like, how many friends do you have that have had cancer in the last of their lives too? And it's like this ratio doesn't make sense, right, and like we're seeing in today's world, these rates of cancer go up, which is like a lot of people scratching their head Cause, like we've done so much work, I mean there's so many contributing factors Not much yeah and yeah, I mean there's, I think, a couple different things there and I'll let Brooke talk too.
Speaker 3:But like we can get into statistics and the reasons. Some of it is positive that we're screening people earlier we had more technology already hatching them earlier, and that's great Part of it is also diet and lifestyle, and we know that too. So we are definitely seeing an increase in younger and younger diagnoses. But as far as, like, I think the other thing about mission alignment is we've seen the ROI, we've seen the return on investment. Like we know that investing money in cancer research saves lives, because we've seen this incredible drop in mortality since 1991. And which is why kind of I think that that this is so like topical and timely too, as we're talking about funding, like we want to talk about right like a proven track record of how to impact like a large amount of people it's investing in cancer research and we've gone ahead and decided that that's not something that you know we want to do.
Speaker 3:No one will come out and really say that because it's unpopular in theory. But I think when people hear about like curing cancer, they're like, oh my gosh, we'll never do that, but like we're talking about making it a survivable. You know diagnosis and of course, there's like over 100 types of cancer so we can't speak to all of them. But yeah, there really is progress that has been made and will continue to be made and I think, more importantly, a stop to that progress equals like people unfortunately dying Literally. Yeah, so not to make like it super like all the time, but then there is this macabre side of it.
Speaker 1:Oh, I can't just be all hoping butterflies and roses. I mean want it to be more of that. But yeah, it's the world we live in. Yeah, yeah. But let's jump over to Brooke, because I'm curious how Brooke got to be here today.
Speaker 2:Let's do it. So I'm Brooke Carlisle. I'm the Regional Government Relations Director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. Wow, I know.
Speaker 3:I know A business card that's like this long.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's an eight and a half by eleven.
Speaker 2:We have to say cancer twice. That's how much we dislike it. Just so you know. We say ACS can for short, for obvious reasons, because what I just laid out was a mouthful. What that means is I do all of our like lobbying, government relations and advocacy work in the state of Utah. So I spend my days talking to state legislators, asking them to vote a certain way or keep cancer patients in mind when they are at our state capital making decisions. Most recently spent more time talking to our federal delegation and asking them to vote a certain way on a recent piece of legislation, again to keep cancer patients in mind as they're making their policy decisions. So I've been. I just hit my 13 year anniversary at ACS CAN. I know I've been there a hot minute and I've been in Utah 20, I think it'll be 19. I think I'm at 19 years this year Wow.
Speaker 1:So what man? 13 years. So what brought you originally to ACS and what keeps you there?
Speaker 2:Um, I mean the answer is like I think it's twofold. The simple answer is this is literally what I went to school for. I'm one of those like I think rare people who is like using their degree. So I literally like I know, like I mean I think people use their degree. You know what I mean. But, like I literally went to school to do my job, I have concentrated in health care policy and now I do health care policy. So the simple answer is it's what I wanted to do. Acs Can hired me and they were hiring. I applied for the job, much like Susan said, like I and cancer has been like an unfortunate, like constant in my life.
Speaker 2:I and cancer has been like an unfortunate, like constant in my life. Like my first memory is losing a classmate in, I want to say, the fifth grade and my grandmother passed away from breast cancer. My mom went through breast cancer six years ago and luckily caught very early. Her treatment was, as treatment goes worse, easy. I'll put that in quotes, but she would tell you the same thing, um, and she's doing great, which is wonderful. She had her, just her, her five year mark. So she's you know, she got to fire her oncologist and hopefully that never has to go back to Hansman Cancer Institute again. Fingers crossed, um.
Speaker 2:And then we just locked my father-in-law a couple of years ago, um, from throat cancer that had spread. So, um, it's just kind of always been there and, like you said, there's. I've only met one person who at the beginning of our meeting was like I've never been touched by cancer, I don't know anyone. By the end of the meeting he like remembered a family member that had cancer. I was like unfortunate you didn't remember. Like at the beginning of this discussion, like poor, poor, I think it was an aunt. You're a poor aunt.
Speaker 1:You know, sometimes you need to go through an experience and be like oh wait, my number. Oh yeah, I remember. All of a sudden this like childhood trauma just starts getting at you. I know, yeah.
Speaker 2:We're having like a therapy session by the end of our meeting, but it's unfortunately something that's impacted everybody's life and that has what. That's what's kept me at ACS, can it's? You know? You're kind of starting every conversation from a common ground of cancer's impacted your life in some way, shape or form. What are we going to do about it?
Speaker 1:Right and I mean it's very timely, especially, I would assume, in your role and, like Susan, jump in too if you have opinions, which I assume you do. But there's been a lot of changes in I mean funding nationally towards a lot of things.
Speaker 2:But I would assume that cancer research funding has been impacted by that as well. Absolutely, it's been really interesting to watch. I think when the new administration came into Washington DC in January, we just started to see a ton of funding cuts. Universities were having their funding cut. People who had received grants from NIH were receiving termination letters that their grants had been terminated.
Speaker 3:That's National Institute of Health.
Speaker 2:Yes, sorry, I live in a world of acronyms. We're all living our own bubbles of the acronym drop, some of that funding of course being in Utah. But, like Susan said, I mean there's nothing in the cancer world Like that's how we've made so many advances over the years and nobody's pro-cancer right. So it's been so interesting to kind of see this threat to cancer research happen. It's historically such a bipartisan issue Republicans, democrats, everyone's anti-cancer. So unfortunately it's, I think, really under threat right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I mean, how does that feel with the conversations that you have with politicians right now? Do you feel like it's you're falling on deaf ears, or do you feel like they like more, like they're like, oh yeah, let's do something. But in reality, it's not necessarily their actions are aligning with their words.
Speaker 2:I will say I don't think it's falling on deaf ears. I mean, I won't get too into the weeds about the congressional budget process, that's. I don't know that that's interesting to anybody. I do it step by step. Yeah, I know that's not interesting to anyone but me.
Speaker 1:There's a bill on Capitol Hill.
Speaker 2:Yes, I mean law of store. Yes, schoolhouse Rock. Right, I'm just a bill, suffice it to say. Congress is still working through their budgeting process, so I think there is still reason to be hopeful that there will be adequate funding in the next year. I just read something today that funding that was on hold is not on hold anymore. So I do think there is a push to adequately fund cancer research.
Speaker 1:And what is it like? I guess adequately can be such a subjective word Like. Does that look like? Oh, everything that's like mission critical is going to be kept, Everything's going to be able to go current course and speed of what it was before, or what's going to still be on the chopping block.
Speaker 2:I mean our hope is that it's everything that has current, every the same amount of funding that has historically been funded. Is that amount remains plus some more, plus, some more. But we've also seen not only threats to cancer research but threats to prevention funding, which I don't think people don't necessarily think about as much. Right, like we've got our Department of Health runs what's called the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program another mouthful of a program but essentially provides cancer screening. Mouthful of a program but essentially provides cancer screening mammograms, pap smears for women who either aren't insured or underinsured. Like we've seen that money threatened at the federal level. Our health department runs a great tobacco control program so people can get help not using tobacco anymore, or ideally never starting to use tobacco. We've seen that funding kind of lag. Most of it has in fact come back. So we're kind of looking at not only research funding but prevention funding. So I think it's looking better than it was a month ago, but I wouldn't throw a celebration party quite yet.
Speaker 1:Okay deal, we're trending right, but the celebration isn't there yet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I wouldn't plan the party yet.
Speaker 1:Deal. And then, susan, I guess, like probably more applicable to you, but as we've seen kind of this change in tone from like the government side, how has that impacted your role of like I mean interacting with the community and fundraising? Do you feel like there's been a call to action that's been met or does it kind of remain the same tone from what's called like the private side?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a good question. I think I mean, and then I think I just have to say it probably is obvious, but ACS CAN is totally like a nonpartisan organization. So I just want to as like things can be divisive, like I feel like even like more and more divisive when it comes to politics. Things can be divisive, I feel like even more and more divisive when it comes to politics. Brooke's job is to view everything through the lens of oncology and what is best for cancer patients, and that is it. So we don't care if it's red, blue, purple, rainbow colored. If it is going to help cancer patients, then that is what we're advocating, Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I frequently say like, like, my job doesn't change based on who's sitting at the state capitol, who's in the White House. Our mission at the end of the day, is to reduce suffering and death from cancer. Right, and that does not change. The roadmap might change a little bit, but the end goal is absolutely always the same at the end of the day. And yeah, like Susan said, we work with the current presidential administration. The same way we worked with the previous administration, the same way we'll work with the next administration. The goal at the end of the day doesn't change based on who's sitting in the White House or who is sitting in Congress or who's sitting at the state legislature. Cancer should not be a political issue there. We go.
Speaker 1:Agreed.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so to kind of get by sorry, I just wanted to make sure sometimes that good thing, to point out.
Speaker 3:But, yeah, I think that, more than just you know, kind of some of those funding things or, like you know, the Medicaid, like some of those like things that are wrapped up in this, like that coming down from the federal level and that affect the Medicaid, like some of those like things that are wrapped up in this, like that coming down from the federal level and that affect the state. Some of the economic things, like if there's uncertainty, like charitable giving goes down, we know that and a lot of like whether that's individual giving or whether that's. I've seen it more with corporate giving. You know their budgets are in jeopardy or they're in flux and money is kind of held on a little bit tighter. So, yeah, it's definitely it's been a more challenging year, I would say, from a fundraising perspective.
Speaker 3:We still have some really great partners in this state. We're always looking to add more. You know, we know that Utah is a, you know, very charitable state just from a statistical standpoint. But we are, we're seeing, I think, as we, you know, very charitable state just from a statistical standpoint. But we are, we're seeing, I think, as we, you know, my job and what you know. I'm so thankful for you for having us on. I think people hear ACS or hear American Cancer Society and they're like yeah, but what are they doing here? What are they doing in my life? How have they impacted me? And I think you know, turning that into how ACS kind of has affected everyone, whether it's from the reason that we don't have smoking in airports and you use SPF, hopefully.
Speaker 1:You should.
Speaker 3:Yes, you should Like things like that.
Speaker 1:Your day moisturizer has SPF, exactly yes, there we go, great.
Speaker 3:Very important. I tell my husband that Because I'm like not a day goes by that I do not put a skin mask on my face.
Speaker 2:Fun fact Utah has the highest skin cancer incidence rate in the country. True.
Speaker 1:I've heard that before. It's kind of wild, kind of wild.
Speaker 3:I guess our elevation, I mean we're like, yeah, there it's been, and I think the makeup of our population dilation, that's what I tell them.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it's true, but I keep telling myself that.
Speaker 2:And you've got a lot of like blonde hair, blue eyed, pale skinned.
Speaker 1:Are they blonde hair blue eyed? I guess blonde hair Blue eyed can't fake as much as they could, but the blonde hair?
Speaker 2:We have a paler population of that.
Speaker 1:Very Scandinavian yeah it's very Scandinavian.
Speaker 3:But also Utah is a winter JCrew catalog, no matter how you slice it, yes, but really wear sunscreen Very important, yes, but the point of that is all like ACS is the we were the people that found this link between smoking and cancer.
Speaker 1:Oh, really Interesting.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that was us, like we did the study that proved that and then, like I think it proves, like kind of the cycle of acs is you know that research part, and then, like you know finding that, and then also like, well, what did we do with that? Past legislations make sure that people aren't getting secondhand smoke, like all of that like is american cancer society so from like this big, like kind of ether like we live in, we live everywhere, but then also in a very specific way of like yeah, we have a Hope Lodge. We have like $6 million in funding just in the state of Utah. We have grants of you know, acs is a grant making body to external entities too. So like Huntsman, for example, like we fund millions of dollars in research that wouldn't be possible without ACS. So, like you know, free rides to and from treatment that we offer. Again, this, the Hope Lodge that we have downtown, is one of only 32 in the country.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Maybe talk about the Hope Lodge a little bit. I don't know. I know it exists but I don't know. I didn't even know it exists.
Speaker 3:I live literally less than a mile away and I have, for the past six years, had no idea it was there.
Speaker 2:I have people be like oh, you have to run by, but I like I don't know what it is.
Speaker 3:No, I don't know what it does. Yeah, so I didn't know, it's right, I didn't know what it did, which, again, I think part of that is like we want our guests there to have some anonymity and feel comfortable because they are going through cancer treatment. So the Hope Lodge provides free lodging for people who are actively going through cancer treatment. That can be a clinical trial or a more traditional treatment, but if they're traveling 40 miles or more. So this is to reduce that burden of you know, like that diagnosis, whether it's for medical bills alone. But then we also know like, yeah, getting to and from treatment, especially if you're going every day, like this, gets incredibly difficult for people, especially if they don't live in the city that they are getting treated in. So, like I said before, like people are coming to the Wasatch Front to get treated and they're driving, you know, from different states or flying in so to ask them to pay for a hotel room, you know, even a week of a hotel so expensive.
Speaker 2:Yeah, crazy expensive, I remember. So the Hope Lodge is celebrating 10 years this year, which is super exciting. I remember it was even before we opened. Someone was inquiring about it and it was a guest from Wyoming and they had nine weeks of radiation. I think they were from Evanston, but don't totally quote me on that.
Speaker 2:But, like I think everyone can imagine, I mean you can't drive back and forth from Evanston, wyoming every day for nine weeks Like that's exhausting. Can you drive yourself? Probably not. After some point Gas is super expensive. So to have a free place to stay for people that again are here for the long term and to have access to like other people going through treatment and again not have that financial burden of a hotel, it's um, I think the guests are so grateful and it's such a great like concrete service to be able, yeah, to provide yeah, I mean especially when you have someone who's facing probably the hardest time of their life absolutely, and like where anything added on to this battle is another right, like not just like a pebble, but like an older on top.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then again like to your example being like oh, I now either have to drive myself and I don't even know if I can right, I don't have anybody or if I do have someone, like the sacrifice it would take for wanting to do that yeah.
Speaker 1:That's a lot. And so just to have a resource where it's like, hey, like we've got you covered here, but then also just like having that community around it, of of not suffering alone, yeah, because it's such like I always love, like very nuanced experiences that people have that can bring people together, and like the two in my life that come up the most, it's like an instant, like okay, you did. It is like divorce and faith crisis.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so it's interesting, like if someone is like oh it used to be Mormon, like I used to be like cool. 10 minutes later, right Homies.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so, in the same way, to like to have like, oh, I'm going through the hardest thing, I'm have cancer. And like, again, there's people that will be there. Like, oh my gosh, I'm so like, I'm here for you, I'm going to fight for you, do whatever you need. You're like yeah, but like. You're not in the club you don't know what I'm talking about and to have somebody like yeah, I remember the first time I had to like throw up after treatment, or I remember the first time I couldn't.
Speaker 2:First I was like, oh, I don't know about that, but they're all like shared kitchens and shared refrigerators, so like you can't like have food in your room, cook in your room, prepare food in the room. It's like forced social interaction and even if, like, maybe the patient isn't up for that like obviously the caregiver you got to eat right. So it's like you're kind of forced to get out of your room and interact with people and just have that social experience. And I think, even if you're like I don't really want this, I just kind of want to go isolate, like you kind of can't. And I think it's so healthy for people Like caregiver, burnout is real.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:So just to have anyone else to talk to who's been there, I think it's so valuable and it's I know I really cool yeah, facility, it's a beautiful facility um.
Speaker 3:But also, like you know, we've, like brooke said it's the 10-year anniversary, which is um, you know, like yeah, it's like really amazing, yeah, uh, but like, we've just launched this new thing called empowerower, which is trying to treat the whole person, not just the cancer patient, so there's space that's available for yoga, for financial classes, even to be like how are you getting through this financial burden of cancer Things, of rock painting, anything that can bring people together, whether it's a tangible real thing like the, like the financial stuff, or it's like, yeah, can you move your body for 10 minutes and feel a little bit better, or so, like, all of those things are kind of happening there. So it's, it's a, it's a place that I think is, yeah, more than just greater than the sum of its parts, I guess.
Speaker 1:Because I know, like so ACS in general, like like I know that we've talked about a lot of things that ACS does, everything from, I mean, government relations and lobbying, research that it does, but then also kind of the more tactical covering of costs and experiences that these people are going through. I mean, is there anything else you want to add to make sure that people understand of what ACS actually? Because, like again, like we talked about, is people hear ACS, american Cancer Society, like oh yeah, like nonprofit for cancer, but sometimes it's like there's this black box of like okay, donate money, where does it go? So I mean, it's just like any other color that you feel is helpful to people know about ACS and where the money goes, because I feel like those are like the three main pillars that I now, but I also know I would argue I know more than others. So I just want to make sure you get what do you do after.
Speaker 2:At this point I mean I think it's really interesting. I think people don't always make the connection between kind of what happens in Washington DC or what happens you know up the hill in our state capital and what that has to do with cancer. And I think you think about things like we can all walk into a restaurant and no one's smoking. I mean that was a public policy decision. Like that is a law that passed that you cannot smoke. I am old enough to remember when you could smoke on an airplane, right, and like the last five rows of an airplane somebody could light a cigarette. I mean that's absurd. There's no smoking section of an airplane. But again, that is a law that passed that you can't do that anymore. Yeah, you know, you look at even things more recently, like the Affordable Care Act. I mean that is the reason that, like so many more people have health insurance.
Speaker 2:I think people just don't make the connection that, like what happens you know thousands of miles in DC or even what happens at our state capitol, actually has a lot to do with cancer. Like I told somebody probably five or six years ago this is what I do and she was like no, like, what kind of issues do you work on? And she worked in the cancer space and I kind of told her, like you know, making sure people can get their prevention screening, get their mammograms, get their colonoscopies and, you know, not have to pay huge sums of money for stuff like that, or they can afford their prescription drugs or have access to the care that they need. Or, again, like we know that smoking causes cancer, and now we have laws that you know ideally prevent you from inhaling secondhand smoke if you don't want to. But so I think people just kind of don't make that connection sometimes that you know what is happening with various levels of government actually has something to do with cancer.
Speaker 1:And I think that's a mental trap that a lot of people find themselves in is like well, if it doesn't impact me right then why it doesn't matter, I don't know about it when in reality, like which is such, like a myopic and like lack of a better term like narcissistic way of thinking about it yeah, because that's how I've heard people talk about. I mean I mean politics and um right uh, lawmaking and lobbying in general.
Speaker 3:It's like privileged slash, ignorant way to like if if it works, it affects the two words I was going to go after.
Speaker 1:So, good job, no, it's no. It's no, I mean aligned, because it's like, oh well, this build an impact. And it's like, oh, like yeah, no shit, like good for you, like you're lucky that you don't have to, you're lucky that you don't have to worry about if you're going to have insurance next week, next month, next year, you don't have to rely on, I mean, food stamps or some sort of government subsidy and like you see it go away. Like well, it doesn't impact me or anybody else.
Speaker 2:I'm like, yeah, like Well, I think people can't like it's hard to put yourself in that position, right, if you are, if you have private health insurance and you can pay for it and it works for you Like you just can't imagine being that person who maybe doesn't have insurance, or paying an extra five or $10 for something to get that screening that you need or something. Like you just can't fathom that. That truly is a decision that people have to make. Right, I'm either getting my cancer screening or I'm putting food on the table, but I've definitely seen politicians who couldn't have cared less about cancer and then suddenly a family member is diagnosed and it all of a sudden definitely becomes real for them.
Speaker 1:And it's like the parallels that I see. A lot is like. I mean, homelessness and mental health are two that people are like. Well, what do you mean? Like why can't we just get rid of homeless people? Why are they doing this? And then, all of a sudden, they have someone experienced homeless as, like my, bad.
Speaker 3:Like I get it no-transcript.
Speaker 1:This would literally be the thing that gives you the only amount of hope that you can have in the entire process.
Speaker 3:Yep, and there's a statistic that says ACS touches 55 million people a year, and so I think that's that thing too, where people are like well, what and how, and those are the kinds of those things that broker talk is talking about. But then also like again, like when talking to people of like, what are we doing in your life, in your backyard? Like you know, ACS is even a convener of like from like a patient support standpoint. So whether that's like again like gas cards, transportation grants to allow people to be able to like go to and from treatment, you know patient navigators for when people get diagnosed, ACS has a huge like scaffolding that we help support in that hospital system, UI plus, like making sure that they have health care providers, especially in the state of Utah, that even know the language to talk to them about and let them like have their screenings. Acs is like convened health care providers to make sure that that education is possible.
Speaker 3:So, like just an array of things that are happening beyond, like behind the scenes. We aren't the people that are going to treat you, we're not going to treat your cancer, but we are going to be the scaffolding. That's like it's easy to and we we do. We need oncologists and like all of that stuff Like it is, you know, not taking anything away from them, but we are the support system behind the scenes. So, you know, I think that that story of like again because because my job is that fundraising point too is to say that, like you know, over 80% of what goes to ACS is directly impacting patients. So, like people want to know where their dollars go, which is great, but like, yeah, I think, if you want to make a difference in that space and oncology, like putting your money into ACS is a really sound investment and I think we've got 112 years to prove that. So, yeah, we're going to do it, yeah, we are, we're so excited.
Speaker 2:We do. We've worn our sunscreen.
Speaker 3:So we don't smoke and we've worn our sunscreen. Exactly. You're aging a lot.
Speaker 1:Listen, I will die on the hill of my skin, like every time someone in their mid-20s is like do Listen, I will die on the hill of my skin, like every time someone in their mid-20s is like.
Speaker 3:Do you have any?
Speaker 1:advice for me Like moisturize now. Sunscreen now. Yes, you don't want to look 40 at 30, but it's nice when you look 25 at 30.
Speaker 2:Yeah, prevention much easier than like reversing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, which Utah is also the top of that one yes, fair Points. But I mean there's other ways to raise money and support it and especially fun ways coming up Dallas Look at that segue. But for Cancers coming up next Friday, I mean, give us a little tidbit of what that looks like, what the point is and how to get involved.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'll give you the rundown of all the exciting fun things and Brooke can tell you what the point of it is, I think more eloquently than I can.
Speaker 3:It's going to be very fun though, but yeah, so this is a event that is a playful, fun, exciting way to come out, have a good time and not even know you're in a fundraiser. So I think it attracts like everyone in the sense that, like, if you are interested in making a difference with your dollars and showing impact with like where you put your money, this is the event for you. If you are one of those few people who you know, doesn't care, haven't been affected by cancer, but you like eating and drinking and good music and being amongst your fellow like you know Utah, then this would be for you too. So this is actually just a fun event. It's our first year trying this. We've got a variety of like food and beverage partners to come out. Honestly, like I went to Pie and Beer Day the very first year I got to Utah. It was like my most favorite day. I was like this is amazing, Such a good day.
Speaker 2:It is, it's a lovely day.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh breweries and pie and food vendors and like. This is that? But unlimited right. There are no tickets and coupons. Once you get into Fort Cancer, like the world is your oyster. You can eat and drink as much as you want from like really.
Speaker 3:But you can't smoke inside you cannot, which again, yes, no, but I really shouldn't smoke anywhere. Exactly, I was testing you. I see what you're going to come up with there. No, yeah, no, smoking shouldn't smoke. But this is, I think the point of this is. Is this is I think the point of this is is this is an event that you would never know as a fundraiser. You can come and bring your friends, come and bring your work colleagues and just go out and have a great time. It's a Friday night, it's at the Gallivan Center, there's a great band, yeah, great food and beverage partners, comedians Like it really just should be. You know, a great event. To come out and not know that you're actually making this huge impact.
Speaker 2:I've kind of always said, like, give me a fun night out, give me something I would do anyway, and throw in a good cause or a good mission, like into the night a little bit, and you've got me hooked and I think that's exactly what this is right. How many people wouldn't go out for dinner and have a drink on a Friday night and hang out with their friends? And that's kind of exactly what this is. But you also get to support a good cause along the way. So I think it's going to be really fun.
Speaker 2:Susan and I both went to the event in Denver last year and it was so fun. So I think it's going to be great. There will be a little you know mission thrown in there. We have a great mission speaker who's actually a pediatric cancer survivor and now works in the cancer research space. So he's going to talk just a little bit about his story and why he works in that space. But the event really focuses on the work that we do at ACS CAN to advocate for cancer research funding. So I think again, like Susan said, you might not even know you're at a fundraiser. It's kind of what you would want to do on a Friday or two, but it's not three hours of a seated dinner where someone's talking. Those are wonderful events too. Acs does a gala as well, so I don't want to say anything bad about those. It's just a different tone, right it's?
Speaker 1:a little less stuffy yeah.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:Because I love. So when I first heard about it I was like yeah, cool, I'm in, I'm in. But when I was doing a lot of my outreach, I mean the people I reached out to initially was like a lot of old podcast guests and it was fun to be like I want to reach out to them. April was like no, no, no, no. Vfm's actually already doing food. Found her a pretty bird.
Speaker 1:I was like oh let's reach out to the Templins. She's like no, no, no, no, kevin Templin's going to be doing drinks. I'm like all right, I didn't even know there were boxes to check to. Good people good food, good drinks, good cause.
Speaker 2:What more do you need?
Speaker 1:Yeah, like, please tell me, Like what else.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, I mean, this event is based on something that was started in New Orleans called Chuck Cancer and it's like an oyster event and it's grown into this, like they rent out the entire city block right next to the Superdome. I went there, I love oysters, so I was like in heaven. But I think the point of this is is like this model, this should be a Utah. This is like an event that we made, curated specifically for Salt Lake, you know, based on this kind of idea of, like young people, because it's geared, you know, right, it's not that stuffy, right.
Speaker 2:We're to a younger crowd.
Speaker 3:Yeah, where people, people care. We've seen that Like, we've seen, like like millennials and Gen Z, they they care where they put their money, like they do research, they like invest in companies that believe Very initiative, what they believe, yeah. So I think, like having an event that is driven by that and saying yeah instead of and if you're going to go out anyway, it's the cost of the dinner and a drink, and you know, literally in a friday. So come and do it.
Speaker 1:And I saw one of those people that whenever it's like all right, like all you can eat, like come enjoy for a pass, I'm like all right time to make it worth it, like I'm the guy, like I mean I've been.
Speaker 2:I feel like the last one was actually in wendover but anyway, not like your elastic pants, like you're ready to go who needs a belt.
Speaker 1:Come on, judgment free. Oh yeah, every time I go to wendover I'm like, ah shit, I lost you hundred dollars. Like well, we gotta make. Gotta go to the buffet, gotta go do something, so it's fair, yeah, so come hang out with me. Uh, susan brooke, the whole acs team, plus I mean all the other tastemakers, lots of great people going. A lot of great causes, a lot of great I mean silent auction gifts, a lot of great things, like there's a lot of incentives.
Speaker 3:There are like two Delta tickets, domestic tickets, where I don't know why I'm saying this, because I was like I'm bidding on those, I want those. Yeah, because I'm like yeah, anywhere in the big US, I don't know. I just feel like there's really good things in this house that I am excited about bidding on that. I shouldn't tell other people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's a couple that I've been have my hands in on providing and I'm like I would want that.
Speaker 3:I haven't even seen the list yet.
Speaker 1:Check it twice. There's some good ones. Yeah, I'm ready Deal.
Speaker 2:I'm ready to go. Well, support my own cause.
Speaker 1:Just APS wins everything.
Speaker 2:Right, take my money.
Speaker 1:The money spends the same people.
Speaker 2:It does, it does yeah.
Speaker 1:Tell us about tastemakers and their role and what they do, and I mean what you tell me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Well, I was just broughtemakers are people who are nominated by their peers in the community as, like you know, community leaders. Basically, to kind of stand what we thought would be able to make an impact.
Speaker 2:Like a face to the event. Is that a good way to put?
Speaker 3:it yeah, I mean, I think like Shout out sunscreen with SPF.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's only sunscreen face and BFS. It's our yeah, a new test for us. Yeah, there are people that are kind of leaders in the community that we felt like would resonate with this cause and also be able to make an impact through gathering the people that are in their community. And I mean, yeah, for better or for worse, we know that money really does make that difference. So, yeah, raising money for this.
Speaker 3:And, again, I think that sometimes people you bring up money and people can have all sorts of different feelings, but if we're being, if we're living in reality, we know that is the currency that matters, like literally the currency. We just need to embrace that and say like we need your help in raising money for this, we need your influence. Yep, and friends Sorry, my voice is doing something weird, which is horrible A key moment, key moment. Yeah, I think this is something that is a really great thing to see people like you stepping up and saying like, hey, I'm going to use my influence and use this platform for a good cause and to make a difference.
Speaker 2:Well, I think it's fun because there's I guess I can't say this about every tastemaker, but I was talking to one yesterday and she currently sits at the top of the tastemaker leaderboard and she's like I'm competitive, I am determined to stay here, so you have some competition, just so you know. But it's fun to see people like of course they want to raise money for a good cause, but they also want to win, so they kind of combine that competitive spirit with a good cause is very fun.
Speaker 1:Oh, I mean competitive nature for a good cause.
Speaker 3:Who doesn't love it?
Speaker 1:Exactly, it's perfect and like one thing that's stuck with me recently. I mean not just for I mean for cancer, acs and a case maker in general general but I mean one of the things I believe in via one of my people I used to. I guess I still look up to him a lot like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He gave this speech at Stanford Once Upon a Time. There's like the five keys to success for him and one of them is give back, and we always think about giving back as like oh, once I have money, I'm going to make charitable donations or I'm going to do these great things or build this wing on the hospital or go have this building with my name on it on campus.
Speaker 1:But in reality there's so many different ways to give back. Like usually, if someone reaches out to me for professional help, I can help them out. I can sit down with them at lunch, grab coffee and chat with them through it, and so I think this is one of those examples, like for me personally, where it's like I can't go write a six figure check to ACS to go impact X amount of lives, but I can help use my platform, my voice and my network to help create a better outcome, especially in the topic that has impacted my life so much. And so, in the same way, if people are looking for a way to give back, cause again, like cancer is a thing that no one's pro cancer there's no more, but like we need more cancer in the world today, I'll go there. But at the same way, we can make these little micro donations of our time, of our money, whatever that might be, to help give back a little bit, and if enough people do that, then it does make a meaningful something.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. $70 is a night at Hope Lodge, if people want to know, like, what that gives. So like their ticket is like a night and a half for someone to pay and I feel like, yeah, we, I mean I can't speak for everyone, but that seems like a pretty good trade off for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but that seems like a pretty good trade off for me. Yeah, and whether it's $700 for 10 days or it's $10 for part of the stay, whatever that might contribute towards like that's still something.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And I think, like I mean, tickets are $99. Like you multiply that by, you know, 100 people, 200 people, 300 people, however many people are at the event Like that's a substantial amount of that is a six figure check. So I think it's yeah, I think, like you said, you can kind of get overwhelmed of like, oh, I can't build my own building, but it can go to one night to a fun event and be part of really what is a larger donation? At the end of the day, that really does make a difference.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so grab some friends, bring them along. There'll be a link in the show notes to buy tickets. Make a donation, whatever you can do. Um, grateful for whatever that is. So if you have the means to do so, please donate. Please come, hang out, come say hi to brooke me. Susan, everybody go harass ariel just kidding, uh, um, she'll probably be stressed out of her mind and see it from the back.
Speaker 3:Cool. Actually she's a pretty cool customer.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's actually true.
Speaker 2:And she's very organized, so I think we just thought it together.
Speaker 1:She's the person that we all need for so many things. I'm the worst at organizing. I'm the person who, every year, I'm like no, no, no, no. This Memorial Day weekend I'm going out of town. I'm doing something.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And the next thing I know it's the week before Memorial Day.
Speaker 3:I'm like, oh shit, you're like I got to get out of here. You're going to do an episode, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm going to steal her from you.
Speaker 3:You should.
Speaker 2:I don't. What are your thoughts on this?
Speaker 1:I can't pay you or say that we are someone else. Thanks, oh man. Well, Susan, this has been amazing. I'm excited to party next week with both of you. If I have a little too much food and a little too much drink, my bad I'll apologize ahead of time.
Speaker 2:Judgment-free zone, my favorite zones, you know.
Speaker 1:I cannot be held accountable. I'll always be held accountable. I'm not that guy.
Speaker 2:You know, just take a ride, share home.
Speaker 1:You'll fine, exactly. Yeah, that's the the big thing that even if your car breaks down in the morning, you have to take an uber to work, or if you're at uh, I joke, because susan's car broke down this morning she had to take an uber to work. Yes, um but here she is but she is, and she's still here and yep thriving still beat me here sure, I am punctual, I try we all, we all try.
Speaker 3:I mean, I'm a punctual person too, but socially, amongst friends not so much, but I'm like, if professionally, yeah, I need to I want to honor everyone's time, you know? Yes, fair, yeah. Anyway, we went way off, okay.
Speaker 1:But I mean before we depart, I want to end with the two questions I ask everybody at the end of each episode. Number one if you both could have someone on the Small Lake City podcast and hear more about what their story and what they're up to, who would you want to hear from?
Speaker 3:Oh, my gosh I actually have. This is not going to be super popular because it's kind of niche, but I'll call her out. So the last nonprofit I worked for had something called Life Start Village and it was a one-of-a-kind program that didn't exist anywhere else in the country but it was for single parents and their kids. But they were. You had to be. It was people who were experiencing homelessness and or going through drug abuse and so you had to be in treatment or have a job. But this was a three to seven year program Wow, incredibly deep. It was only 32 families, but at the time we had like 90 something kids. Most places don't want to deal with kids.
Speaker 1:You know, there's just a lot of liabilities.
Speaker 3:Anyway, heidi Lund was someone who went through this. She was. She came out of you know being an addict and went through that journey and then was the head of that program and she still works. It's my shout out deal.
Speaker 2:I love that I'm trying to think um, my head is leaning towards like restaurants because, like I've seen how much salt lake's food scene has improved in the 20 years I've been here.
Speaker 2:I remember like when chain restaurants would open and people would throw like parties and sleep out and I was like I mean that's great. I don't dislike, I love a good chain restaurant Don't get me wrong but I'm like I think we can do better. But I'm trying to think of, like I'll say this, one of my favorite restaurants in Salt Lake and I feel like people don't talk about it enough. So I would love to like know more about the people that like own it and how they ended up here and all of this stuff, and shout out to Lone Star Taqueria If you've never been on Fort Union and Cottonwood Heights, it is amazing.
Speaker 1:Classic Iconic.
Speaker 2:It's good right, oh yeah, but like does it get the love it deserves? I think it's more of a hidden gem, Right but if you aren't from here, have you ever been to Lone Star Taqueria?
Speaker 1:No, we're not going to judge you, but we might.
Speaker 2:No, there's no judgment. I don't think so. It's delightful. Oh yeah, but I mean like very random and niche, but like even I don't know anything about, like how it came to be. Right.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I was reading something the other day of, like you know what, the parking lot's not that great, the speaker for the drive-thru isn't that great. But you know what you'll do. You'll pull in that parking lot and you'll deal with the drive-thru and you're gonna order your fish tacos. I've never been, I just it's delightful. Highly recommend it oh yeah, I don't ski, but after a day of skiing it's great, it's like, yeah, it's right in the spot yes, um cool lone star taqueria heidi lunn.
Speaker 3:Very good specific Good diverse options.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was a very specific answer. But yeah, I was trying to think of, like, what have I said in the past week where I'm like I have questions about such?
Speaker 3:and such. I wish whoever's in charge of driving to get someone on this podcast that can help us with the driving thing. Yes, and then also a geologist with earthquakes. I want to know more about this like liquefication zone that I've heard in that. Yeah, liquefication zone Terrify us all. Well, it sounds terrifying, it is, and I think it's real. So you should get a geologist on here that would rock.
Speaker 1:I hate myself so much, god. Oh, I've been on a dad joke spree and every time like it's just like I've looked at myself with the mirror.
Speaker 2:It's like really I think it's okay, but you can't stop yourself right no, you're just like I can't believe, I said that, but yeah, there we are you just gotta own it until and then.
Speaker 1:Lastly, if people want to find out more about acs in general or I mean both utah, specific for cancer, what's the best place to find information?
Speaker 3:okay, edit this dead silence out. I know that our cancerorg website is where people should go for like are you experiencing cancer? Do you have questions about cancer? As far as Fort Cancer goes, you can go to Fort Cancer Utah, but I let me. I need to. We need to edit this.
Speaker 2:The actual website is utahhouseacscanfortcancerorg, which is too much now.
Speaker 1:That's almost longer than Brookscom.
Speaker 2:I know it. Really it doesn't roll off the tongue.
Speaker 3:Yeah, If you just go to Fort Cancer Utah, it comes right up. Just Google. That's what I do every time.
Speaker 1:Scroll down to the notes, you'll see it. Tap and open.
Speaker 2:Just Google Fort Cancer, utah, and it'll pop right up for you. Yeah, and that's what I do.
Speaker 1:I mean, I've yet to do it another way. Yeah, that's why.
Speaker 3:What is this website? It's long yeah.
Speaker 1:It's not super short. We'll workshop it later, okay so, yeah, so if people want more information, cancerorg, but then also show notes for ACS, buy some tickets, donate. But Brooke, this has been great, thank you. I've learned so much about you guys, both of you and just ACS in general. Great organization, keep doing what you're doing and back people's lives better.
Speaker 2:Thanks, thanks for having us.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 2:It's perfect.
