MMG Insurance men sport extra facial hair for ‘Movember’

    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Sixteen men at MMG Insurance Co. opted to let their hair down — their facial hair, that is — throughout the month of November with the intention of “changing the face of men’s health.”    Movember is a customized word that results from the combination of “moustache” and “November.” It is an annual, month-long event that encourages men to grow moustaches during November to raise awareness of prostate cancer, preventive care and associated charities. In the interest of keeping it local, MMG chose Aroostook Cancer Care as the recipient of the $160 raised by the project.
The philosophy behind the Movember mission is that greater awareness of men’s physical and mental health leads to greater understanding of these issues, and helps to ensure that men with prostate or testicular cancer receive the care they need to maintain physical and mental wellness. By encouraging men to get involved, Movember aims to increase early cancer detection, diagnosis and effective treatments, which ultimately reduce the number of preventable deaths.
Grace O’Neal, programmer analyst, championed the project alongside fellow member of MMG’s Wellness Committee Margo Dyer, human resources assistant. O’Neal first learned of the Movember movement late in 2012 when the month of November was already in full swing.
“Unfortunately, it was too late to do much about it at that point. Thankfully, this year we got a jump on it, and spent the time leading up to November brainstorming how to create excitement among our male community,” said O’Neal. “I had no idea 16 people would take us up on the challenge!”
O’Neal stated that one of the primary reasons the wellness committee took interest in the idea was that many of the company wellness programs were often so well received by women that it led to a trend of gearing them toward women. Movember gave an opportunity for men to not only participate, but to directly benefit. A growing number of men in the organization were feeling a little left out of the mix. Chris Locke, programmer analyst, was one of those men.
“Well, every October there are a lot of big events with pink ribbons, and I’m usually the one making the comment, ‘That’s great, but what are we doing about prostate cancer and men’s health?’” said Locke. “So, when this came up, I was obligated to put my money where my mouth was, pretty literally.”
Those gentlemen who already sported a coiffed upper lip were not required to shave and re-grow their facial hair, but were encouraged to instead “track the progress” throughout the month. Even a number of MMG women got involved, in their own way. As part of promoting awareness, O’Neal sent a weekly informational e-mail bulletin about men’s health and preventive care, testicular and prostate cancers, and mental health.
The vast majority of participants were inclined to get involved because they were affected by cancer directly or indirectly. Both of Locke’s parents are cancer survivors. William Winslow, information technology supervisor, and the first to sign up for the program, has lost more than one close relative to cancer. Both Mike Thibodeau, accounting manager, and Greg Hallett, personal lines underwriter, were close friends of the late Tom Clukey of Clukey’s Auto Supply and emphatically supported the decision to donate all proceeds from the project to Lights of Life.
“I’ve lost a lot of friends and family to cancer, particularly prostate cancer, as it runs in my family,” said Thibodeau. “There isn’t a family in Aroostook County that hasn’t been touched by it. Tom and I go way back, and this cause is very close to everyone’s heart.”
Hallett agreed. “Anything we can participate in that will help raise awareness and make someone a survivor, I’m all for it. I was also good friends with Tom, and it’s nice knowing this donation is going toward doing some good in the future locally, thanks to Lights of Life.”
All funds raised by Lights of Life benefit Aroostook Cancer Care and will be used to ensure high quality cancer services are available in the local community. One of the most community-oriented aspects of the program is the cancer patient support fund to be implemented in 2014, which will assist both male and female cancer patients in financial need by partially covering gas costs and other expenses associated with traveling to and from treatments.