Bedford Maintains Strong Links to the PanMass Challenge

Holly Grey stands between her sister Hannah Grey (L) and her wife Ellen Grey (R) during the overnight stop at Bourne in the 2014 PMC ride - Courtesy image (c) PMC Living Proof series, 2014 all rights reserved — Happy to be warm and dry, Holly Grey stands between her wife, Ellen Grey (L), and her sister, Hannah Grey (R), during the overnight stop at Bourne in the 2014 PMC ride – Courtesy image (c) PMC Living Proof series, 2014 all rights reserved

By Julie McCay Turner

Long-standing and far-reaching connections tie Bedford residents into the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC), an arduous two-day bicycle ride where 100 percent of rider-raised funds benefit cancer research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This year’s PMC is particularly special since the fundraising goal amongst the approximate 6,000 riders is $45 million dollars (last year $41 million dollars was raised), resulting in a 36-year cumulative total of $500M, or half a billion dollars, raised!

One of Bedford’s PMC stalwarts, Ralph Hammond rode his first PMC in 2004 and shortly thereafter was honored as a Living Proof rider, a cancer survivor riding to make a difference in the lives of others… This week he saluted Holly Grey, a 2015 Living Proof rider who will return from her home in San Jose, California to complete her sixth PMC ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown on August 1 and 2.

Hammond recalled Grey as a student when he taught computer science at the Middle School, and noted that he keeps up with Holly through her parents, Peter and Kathy Grey. “I can still picture her as a young girl,” Hammond said, “and I’m so proud of all she has accomplished.”

After completing the weather-challenged 2014 PMC, Grey hopes for better weather this year.

In a letter to her fundraising partners, Grey said, “On March 28th, I was honored to be 1 of 43 “living proof” individuals honored in an exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in connection with the 2014 Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC). … I was honored as a “living proofer” since I am an example of someone the event benefits – a survivor. In June 2011, I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and my world immediately turned upside down. I endured a year of active treatment, encompassing surgeries, chemo and radiation and just finished the last cancer related surgery in August 2014, so it was a very long road.” Grey has already exceeded her 2015 fundraising goal by more than 30-percent.

Grey continued, “The event at the MFA reminded me that I am part of a community. While I didn’t know the other 42 individuals being recognized, the feeling of support and love in the room was indisputable. It was an emotional night for my family and me – one that brought all of us to tears at least once. Unlike prior times during my journey, these were tears of joy and relief that I had seen my darkest days but come out the other end a better and more grateful person for each and every day.

Along with Holly Grey, PMC profile https://www2.pmc.org/profile/HG0024, this year’s Bedford riders and their PMC profile links include