"The Power of WOW! Hurry Up and Live!" - Jon Albert
When a parent is diagnosed with late-stage cancer, who are the first people they think of? Their children. Addressing the fear, dread and guilt by creating cherished memories.
Jon Albert is a native of Tampa, a graduate of Vanderbilt and the University of Florida where he achieved his master’s in business; Jon began his career with Frito-Lay. Jon then moved to Atlanta to establish and launch the GA operations for PageNet which grew into a wonderful success story. He then had the unique opportunity to serve as a Director for The Atlanta Olympic Games (a $1.8 billion start-up). After The Olympics, Jon became President of the Builder Division of Apex Supply which was bought by The Home Depot years later.
Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation was inspired by Jill and Jon Albert’s real life story. Jon found himself, his wife, Jill, and their two young children Jake and Jamie facing Jill’s Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Jill and Jon realized early on in Jill’s fight, the disease was not just attacking her body, but it was affecting their entire family. Jill and Jon decided they needed to treat their family along with the cancer. The Alberts knew that for their kids, strong memories of special times together would be their greatest inheritance. From this notion, JAJF was born. Jill died a week before Thanksgiving 2006.
Jon was honored as the 2010 Humanitarian of the Year in a ceremony sponsored by American Airlines and in 2011 as the Avis National Spirit recipient at Yankee Stadium. US TRAVEL named Jon their inaugural National Inspiration Award honoree in 2015. And, in 2016 Jon was honored as the Tampa Bay Community HERO by the Lightning Foundation.
Jamie is now at UVA; Jake at Yale. Jon is blessed to have remarried Karen who has inspired him personally to Hurry Up and Live!