Meet Mark Forziati - 2010 WALK Spokesperson

Mark Forziati’s involvement with the North Shore Cancer WALK began with a New Year’s resolution he made as the year 2000 approached. His father, Erminio, had died almost 10 years earlier of lung cancer and Mark decided that in the new millennium he would dedicate as much time and effort as possible to raising money for cancer-related causes.

Mark had already been heavily involved in fundraising for larger organizations, but nothing prepared him for what he saw on the morning of June 18, 2000. “I got to the Salem Willows and all I saw were T-shirts. I remember seeing a mother and her teenage son wearing matching T-shirts with a picture of a man playing chess,” Mark related. “For me, that put a personal touch on the WALK when I realized these people were impacted by cancer just like me.” 

“My father was only 56 when he died of lung cancer. He never smoked and was the picture of health. He could run five miles without a problem. When he died, I was only 33 and at that age you think you’re invincible. You don’t think about death. But I got a different outlook on life when my father died.”

“When I was asked to be the spokesperson for the 20th annual North Shore Cancer WALK, I realized that it would be held once again on Father’s Day. It also happens to be the 20th anniversary, to the day, of my father’s death. I hate to say it was meant to be, but it was. And it is my plan to help make this year’s North Shore Cancer WALK the most successful ever.”