Fetal Health Foundation Founders, Lonnie and Michelle Somers, Announce New Executive Director, Talitha McGuinness. The Great Candy Run, the Foundation’s Signature Event, Ends on a Sweet Note and Launches New Concept Event in November.
DENVER, Colo. (Feb. 7, 2019) – The Fetal Health Foundation (FHF) recently announced the appointment of long-time board member, Talitha McGuinness, to the position of executive director. Established in 2004, FHF is a nonprofit organization that offers resources and support to those experiencing severe pregnancy complications known collectively as fetal health syndromes. FHF was founded by Lonnie and Michelle Somers, who own and manage HAL Sports, an event management company. Both Somers will continue to serve on FHF’s board, provide strategic leadership and facilitate special projects. McGuinness will oversee daily operations and continue to build connections with fetal treatment centers and specialists.
“I am passionate about the Foundation and helping families who receive a fetal diagnosis,” stated McGuinness who received support from the Foundation more than a decade ago when her twins were diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). “With these changes, the organization can increase that support and provide even more resources to families across the country and around the world.”
Funding for FHF programs has come largely thru individual donations and the Foundation’s signature awareness and fundraising event, The Great Candy Run. Known as “a sweet event for a sweet cause,” The Great Candy Run annually attracts 6,000 participants and several thousand spectators. After six years as Colorado’s largest timed 5K, FHF has decided to end the Run on a sweet note and replace it with a more intimate fundraising run that has a stronger connection to the families it serves. The new concept event will take place the second Sunday of November in Denver’s Washington Park and will be produced by HAL Sports.
The Somers started FHF after their own experience with TTTS. At the time, information and resources about the syndrome were limited. They traveled across the country to find a specialist to perform in-utero surgery on their daughters, who are now healthy 15-year-olds. They established FHF to provide information and connections to families experiencing fetal health syndromes.
“What started as almost a pipedream – to make sure that parents like us had the information they needed so they’d never have to say, ‘If only I had known’ – has grown into an organization that helps many thousands and has an international reach,” said Lonnie.