Kris was nominated for LLS Sacramento Man of the Year by Clay Sigg, manager of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Sacramento Fair Oaks office. Clay is now Kris’ campaign manager and a key factor in the organization of his Man of the Year fundraiser. To learn a little more about Kris and the campaign, we sat down with Clay to ask a few questions.

Q: How did you learn about the LLS Man of the Year competition?

Clay:  My UC Davis Baseball Coach, Phil Swimley, has a granddaughter Sammy who is fighting a rare form of blood cancer. Through recent research breakthroughs, her cancer has been put into remission. Sammy’s Mom, Mary Swimley, has brought this fundraising drive to my attention a number of times. My mother is a breast cancer survivor, so I have an awareness of the devastation that dealing with cancer has not only in my own life, but in the lives of most everyone that I know in one form or another. 

Q: You nominated Kris for Man of the Year. What made you think he would make a good candidate?

Clay:  I immediately thought of Kris as someone who would have a heart for this, take it as a challenge and really run with it. Wow has he embraced it! He has such a great focus that  he can do something for a cause that could have significance for any family in our Sacramento community locally.

Q: As his campaign manager, tell us about Kris’ fundraising goal and how he plans on meeting it.

Clay:  We’re taking dead aim at raising at least $50,000, our professed goal. However, we think we have the possibility of raising much more than that. Our planning group already has six separate events that people have agreed to put on. We think they will not only be fun, but will raise healthy amounts of money for the Sacramento Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. 

Q: Obviously this is more than a competition for Man of the Year. How does this fundraiser help the LLS Sacramento chapter?

Clay:  I don’t think Kris is getting caught up too much in the “Man of the Year” aspects of this campaign. My read is that he wants to leverage his position with Coldwell Banker and influence within the community to raise money to fund blood cancer research and patient support programs. The bigger mission of the LLS is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, but before that, to improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Sometimes we don’t think about what happens to the family of a cancer patient financially. It can be just devastating while the family is helping their loved one get through the ordeal.

Q: At the end of the competition, do you think Kris will be named Man of the Year?

Clay:  Actually, I would be surprised if he isn’t. Kris is fully engaged in this effort and is relentless when he puts his mind to it. He’s already committed to running for 24 hours straight on May 4th and 5th (about 100 miles!) to highlight the importance of this cause and to raise money for LLS. People are saying, “Is he crazy?” but they are saying it out of respect for his positive commitment to doing something big for the effort.

Q: If someone would like to get involved in supporting Kris’ campaign, what suggestions do you have?

Clay:  What we are finding is that each person who wants to get involved has just made contact and stepped up to do one event…  or they’ve thought of one idea that would raise money. We’re just getting started so there is plenty of time to plan and then pull off an event that would benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. We’re actively attempting to procure silent and live auction items that can generate extra money for our events. I’d love to help anyone plan to make their idea for a fundraising event as successful possible. My cell phone is (916) 768-0974.

Q: Kris has a very philanthropic background and is known for his work with a range of caring causes.  Can you tell us a bit more about his background?  

Clay:  Kris has done a wide range of things in his life that show what kind of a man he is. He has been very involved in a number of projects through his church, and has won the NRT Coldwell Banker Spirit award. Just in the short time I’ve been working with him, we have been involved with a number of charities and non-profits. We have participated in the WEAVE (Women Escaping Violent Environments) event “Run a Mile in her Shoes”; “Habitat for Humanity” events where we’ve built homes for people; the “Walk N’ Rock” in behalf of the Positive Coaching Alliance which is transforming youth sports; and the “Run to Feed the Hungry” celebration on Thanksgiving mornings. And that is just in the last eighteen months.