The Elko area can be a wonderful place to live for many reasons. One highlight in particular, for many people, is that fact that we reside in an economically stable community, which means plenty of jobs and opportunities to go around. However, with this blessing can come the assumption that every one of our neighbors is out making thousands and thousands of dollars at a lucrative mining-related job. That’s not the case.
Though many individuals show up to and work hard at their place of employment every day, they still may find themselves living paycheck to paycheck. Therefore, AAT is thankful to have members of the community, such as today’s guest, who not only recognize this reality but have also chosen to provide help to those who may not have a surplus of cash sitting in the bank.
This week, we’re joined by Jenn Cambra. Jenn is the manager of High Desert Imaging (HDI), which provides reputable medical imaging & radiology services to its patients. Furthermore, Jenn is the founder of the non-profit, Get Pink Elko County and the organization’s annual fundraising event, Ride for the Racks. We’ll let Jenn describe to us a more about Get Pink and Ride for the Racks a little bit later in this article; however, let’s first take some time to get to know her.
Thank you for joining us today, Jenn! What brought you to the Elko area, and how did you get involved with HDI?
“I moved to Elko to provide a better life for my kids and to give them the opportunities to enjoy the actives they like to do like hunting and off-roading.”
“I was with Elko Diagnostic for ten years before High Desert Imaging came to town. I didn’t even know HDI was a thing until a student of mine applied for a position here. One day, I got a call from this new imaging center in Elko to talk about his application; when I answered and learned about HDI, my heart stopped; the hospital (Northern Nevada Regional Hospital) had purchased Elko Diagnostic and everything went downhill. It became a difficult company for me to work with.”
“As we (HDI’s administrator) were having this conversation about my student’s application, I was asked how long I had been doing MRI’s; I told him I had been doing them for about twenty years. He asked if I wanted to apply with them; I said no because I didn’t want to take this kid’s job! I found out they were going to be hiring more than one MRI technologist. After thinking it over and talking to my husband, I called him back; he told me they were really looking for someone who could manage. I had never been a manager before, but, long story short, I took the job with HDI, and that’s how I ended up here!”
Now, let’s talk about your non-profit organization, Get Pink Elko County. How did it come to be, and what is its goal/purpose?
“From October to December, we (HDI) do a special for mammograms because October is breast cancer awareness month. For one hundred dollars you can get your screening and, with our company, that includes the radiologist fee and everything. However, I was in awe of the number of people who came to me and told me they couldn’t afford that. Normally, these screenings are three hundred and fifty dollars, and I know that can be a large chunk of change for any given person; when people told me they still couldn’t afford the hundred dollars, that broke my heart.”
“After realizing all of this, I told our administrator here at HDI that I wanted to start a non-profit organization to help men and women in our community pay for breast health exams. There are programs out there to help you once you have cancer, but what about these people who can’t even afford the test to find out if they have cancer? What about the people with ten thousand-dollar deductibles? The need is community-wide! Everybody deserves help, and you don’t need to be jobless, homeless, or insurance-less to get it.”
“We got our 501(c)(3) (non-profit tax form) at the end of 2017. For those who need the help, they can apply with Get Pink, and then they can use the funds where ever they’d like to go for help; it doesn’t have to only be at HDI. This is not for HDI’s profit; my heart just went out to these poor people that couldn’t afford a hundred-dollar screening. To date, we’ve been able to help six or seven people, so far!”
Get Pink’s annual fundraising event is the Ride for the Racks poker run. From where did the idea for this event come? Can you please give us a break down of what people can expect if they decide to check it out, this year?
“I was involved with several poker runs in California, so I felt like that was something I could organize. I also felt like there were already enough traditional “runs” in the town; I wanted to do something different and fun!
We were super successful with our first Ride for the Racks event last year (2018); we raised over ten-thousand dollars.”
“We do this run in conjunction with the Blessing of the Bikes. You show up at the Elko City Park on May 4th, 2019. We respect the blessing of the bikes, take care of registration and get your waivers signed. You’ll pick up your registration pack where you’ll find your custom stamp card that you will take to different stops around the community. At each stop, you will have the opportunity to draw a random playing card that will be logged on your stamp card. These stamps will turn into your poker hand, and the people with the highest and lowest hands at the end of the night will win cash prizes. Typically, people will hang out at each destination, and play some fun games while they’re there. At the end of the day, you’ll get to The Watering Hole, you’ll turn in your card, get a drink, and we’ll have a barbeque, music, raffles, and pay out the winners of the poker run! We also have an actual auctioneer coming out to run a live auction for us! It is a fun way to show your support for Get Pink Elko County and to make new friends.”
Is there anything you want the AAT readers to know or not to forget as we wrap up this conversation, Jenn?
“If you register for Ride for the Racks by April 12th, 2019, you’ll get a free t-shirt. The event is twenty-five dollars (early registration price) to come out and have a good time! At the event, it’s thirty dollars plus the cost of the t-shirt. The entire day is open to everyone!”
“Also, it makes me proud to work for a company that cares. Get Pink has a strong backing here at HDI. The only thing our administrator, Steve Mims, said when I told him I wanted to start a non-profit was “ok, let’s do it!” When a company cares about the community, it shows, and I think we do just that.”
If you’d like more information on Get Pink Elko County or are interested in registering for Ride for the Racks poker run, you can visit their website: Get Pink
You can stay caught up on everything going on around here at AAT by checking out our “Stay Connected” page! Make sure you never miss a feature!
See you around, Elko!
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