American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer Las Vegas Golf Classic 2023 E-Update

April 2023￨Issue No. 3

Derek Thompson and his wife, Christin of NextGen Cattle Co. have been leaders in supporting the Las Vegas Golf Classic for the past nine years. In 2019, the Thompsons donated an additional $50,000 to the event in honor of Terry O’Bryan, Coach Lon Kruger's sister, who had recently passed away. Let’s get to know Derek even more. 

What was your first job ever? 

My first real job ever was while I was in college… I sold ADT security systems door-to-door. You find out a lot about yourself!!!

What is the best thing that has happened this year?  

My daughter graduating from grad school and landing her first job.

Best life lesson you have learned and like to share? 

I try to live each day by helping change someone’s life in a positive way and making some amazing memories with my family and friends.

What is your favorite childhood memory?  

Seeing my father build a business and showing me and my brother what hard work and sacrifice really mean.

If your life was a story, what would it be titled?

“Blessings and Dreams”  

If you could travel back in time, which period would you go to? 

The 90s… no cell phones, no social media. Life was simple, and I had a lot of fun.

Why are you involved in the CvC LV Golf Classic/fight against cancer? 

Cancer has had a huge impact on my family as I have lost a lot of family to this horrible disease. When Lon put this together I was at the first event. To see what he has done along with his amazing team is absolutely incredible. I’m just thankful for him and the platform he has built which allows me and my wife to give back. 

For the past nine years The UPS Store and Tom Englund (pictured second from left) have provided enormous support for the Las Vegas Golf Classic. The UPS Store is the world's largest franchisor of retail shipping, postal, printing and business service centers providing convenient and value-added business services to the small-office/home-office market, corporate "road warriors" and consumers. Let’s get to know this dedicated teammate and cancer survivor more. 

What’s the first thing you would do if you became invisible?

You have to be thinking fun here... I would start moving things around in the house to freak out my family. Also, I'd jump in my truck and go riding around with the windows down, just to see how long it would take before I got pulled over.

What is the most adventurous thing you’ve done in your life?

When I was 20 years old, I had the opportunity to travel to Europe. One of my days there was spent in Switzerland. I went on an excursion with five other people, none of whom spoke much English. Yet we seemed to communicate well because of our common interest. We took a ride in a helicopter up above the clouds at St. Moritz. We hele-skied down a freshly-powdered mountain with the clouds below us and the blinding sun above. It was probably the most spiritual moment I ever experienced. To close the experience my five new friends and I shared a few pints at the bottom of the mountain... where I learned that they, in fact, spoke perfectly good English and were just messing with me!

What has being a parent taught you about leadership? 

I think life in sports has taught me the most about leadership; which in turn has taught me to be a better parent. The one thing about parenting is to be patient and take the time to teach. That lesson has also served me well in my business. Allow your team to take the lead sometimes - the people you lead need to feel they are empowered to grow. And understand we can all learn from our mistakes.

If you could win an Olympic Gold Medal, what would you want it to be in?

I would have loved to have been part of the 1980 USA Hockey team. I can’t skate and I can’t shoot or handle the puck, but that would have been an incredible journey to take as a team and medal to win. 

Best life lesson you have learned and like to share?

Relationships are the most precious things in your life. Never take them for granted. Family, friends, acquaintances, and competition. The love and respect you give to any and all of these will make you a happy person.

Why are you involved in the CvC LV Golf Classic/fight against cancer?

The people that make up this event are some of the greatest men and women of our community. Being part of this community is special. It is always important to give back and support anything that can make us stronger. We all know cancer has affected each of us directly or indirectly, so it's easy to see why we would want to be a part of it. Oh, and we get to play a few cool golf courses too!

Longtime Classic volunteer will be greatly missed

It is with great sadness that the Las Vegas Golf Classic team share the peaceful passing of a special teammate, Maureen Youngmeyer-May, last fall in Wichita, Kan. Recognized as a Classic founding member and later celebrated as part of the All-Decade Team, Youngmeyer-May’s enthusiastic behind-the-scenes volunteer work has been felt by all involved.

Youngmeyer-May started volunteering for the American Cancer Society with Relay For Life in Binghamton, NY. Her heart was immense, and she poured her soul into fundraising for cancer as a two-time breast cancer survivor. Read more here.

We will miss Youngmeyer-May’s smile and energy at this year’s Classic and know she will be there with us in spirit. We send our heartfelt condolences to her husband Phil (who is also a longtime Classic supporter) as well as her family and friends. 

Current/former head coaches scheduled to be part of the event next month include:

Roy Williams

North Carolina (retired)

Greg McDermott

Creighton

Matt Painter

Purdue

Fred Hoiberg

Nebraska

Wayne Tinkle

Oregon State

Chris Crutchfield

Omaha

Bob Chipman

Washburn (retired)

Ron McHenry

Washburn (retired)

Dana Altman

Oregon

Lon Kruger

CvC Council Chair (retired)

Andy Enfield

USC

Tubby Smith

High Point (retired)

Porter Moser

Oklahoma

Tim Miles

San Jose State

Ron Cottrell

Houston Christian

Jim Harrick

UCLA (retired)

Fran McCaffery

Iowa

Brad Underwood

Illinois

Kevin Kruger

UNLV

Jerod Haase

Stanford

Eran Ganot

Hawaii

Reggie Theus

Bethune-Cookman

Pete Herrmann

Young Harris (retired)

Chris Klieman

Kansas State FB

A special thank you to our sponsors

Want to join the likes of Sanford Health, MGM Resorts International, NextGen Cattle Co., Nike, Top of the World, The UPS Store, Comprehensive Cancer Centers, Wald Family Foods, RBC Capital Markets and Xs & Os of Success and play an even bigger role in supporting Coaches vs. Cancer? All while gaining valuable exposure for your organization? 

Find out more about becoming a sponsor of the 2023 Coaches vs. Cancer Las Vegas Golf Classic by contacting Bridget Byrne at [email protected] or (702) 275-1124.

Have questions about the 16^th Annual Coaches vs. Cancer Las Vegas Golf Classic? 

Visit the Classic's website or contact Samantha Molinero with American Cancer Society at [email protected] or (954) 639-2101.