Ken and Lee's Crew

Ken Conrad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September 2015.   Looking for ways to support his fight, his 'crew' of friends and family focused on his love of deep-sea fishing.   After he passed away, we renamed his boat the ‘Ken’s Crew’, painted it pancreatic cancer purple, and got permission to add the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PANCAN) logo to the stern.   We started selling ‘Ken’s Crew’ merchandise, hosting oyster roasts, and entering fishing tournaments to raise money and awareness.    In November 2018 Ken's wife, Lee Conrad, passed away from leukemia, which was another gut punch but hasn’t affected our resolve.   Instead we added leukemia orange to our merchandise, revised the logo to ‘Ken & Lee’s Crew’, and doubled down on our fundraising.    As of May 2019, the Crew has raised over $50,000 to further cancer research through PANCAN and UNC Chapel Hill’s Children’s Hospital, including over $24,000 raised as part of the 2019 Reelin for Research Tournament. (reelinforresearch.org)