AUSTIN HATCHER FOUNDATION NAMES DOUG FEHAN AS NEW MEMBER TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR 2010

The Austin Hatcher Foundation has named Doug Fehan, Program Manager for Corvette Racing, as one of the eight new members to its Board of Directors for 2010.

 
Fehan, a motorsports icon and an active participant with the Austin Hatcher Foundation since its inception in 2006, has worked in conjunction with the American Le Mans Series to make donations and raise awareness through hospital visits and the Foundation’s diversionary therapy events in each race city and throughout the country. The Austin Hatcher Foundation is the official charity of the American Le Mans Series.

Devoted to the cause after personally experiencing the loss of a young nephew to leukemia, Fehan expressed how taking this position is a way for him to give back and say thank you for all the blessings in his life.

“I am honored that the Foundation considered me to be a member of the board and has asked me to help garner exposure for the Foundation,” Fehan said. He understands that most people are only one degree removed from the effects of cancer. “If it is not you personally, it is someone you know that has gone through it.”

Fehan added that he will mirror his approach to motorsports to be successful in this endeavor, “It is just like in racing, where at the end of the day we are designed to sell cars. With the Foundation at the end of the day, we are designed to raise funding to expand exposure to the foundation…and this is something I am really honored to be doing.”
One way he has already gained exposure was during a “Tire Carving” event, during Petit Le Mans in 2009. The “Tire Carving” offered drivers from Corvette Racing – Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen, Johnny O’Connell, Olivier Beretta, Marcel Fässler and Oliver Gavin – as well as Austin Hatcher Foundation guests and celebrities – the rare opportunity to carve a unique tread into the rear wheel from the 2007 American Le Mans Series GT1 Championship Corvette. The tire, which is currently touring the country, is set to be auctioned off near the end of 2010 with all proceeds going to the Foundation.

With the mission to use motorsports as a platform to find a cure, Fehan will continue to be an advocate through Corvette Racing to support the Austin Hatcher Foundation.

Learn how you can help: www.hatcherfoundation.org.

The Austin Hatcher Foundation and the American Le Mans Series
In an effort to help support children and families dealing with issues resulting from pediatric cancer, the American Le Mans Series has partnered with the Austin Hatcher Foundation as an official charity of the Series. During each season, many of the world’s top sports car drivers will visit pediatric wards in various race markets nationwide to directly interact and support the children with pediatric cancer and their families.
The Austin Hatcher Foundation was founded by Dr. Jim Osborn and wife Amy Jo after the loss of their two-month-old son “Hatch” to a rare form of cancer.

The Austin Hatcher Foundation for a carefree childhood was formed in 2006 after Amy Jo and Jim Osborn lost their infant son Hatch to a rare form of pediatric cancer.  The foundation’s mission is to support research towards the diagnosis, treatment and development of a cure for pediatric cancer, and to provide support and hope to children and families undergoing treatment as well as those who have lost children due to cancer.  The foundation has developed a landmark group of programs and services essential to help cancer stricken children and their families function within their community.  All services provided by the Foundation are free of charge, funded solely by the generous donations of its supporters.
Hatch’s house of hope is a unique concept designed to keep the family unit whole when dealing with pediatric cancer.  Specifically, these services include IIP neurocognitive testing, educational programming to help effected children overcome their cognitive and learning deficits, emotional counseling for the cancer affected child, their siblings and parents, and marital and financial counseling to ensure a safe environment to maximize the family growth as a whole.  All services at Hatch’s are free to its guests, funded entirely by donations.  Erlanger Medical Mall in Chattanooga, TN is the site of the first Hatch’s house of hope, which opened September 18, 2009.  For more information, visit www.hatcherfoundation.org.

Source ALMS | © RIF