{"id":70782,"date":"2026-09-02T21:43:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T04:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=70782"},"modified":"2026-09-04T09:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T16:29:07","slug":"whats-happenin-cares-unites-industry-raises-money-for-cancer-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2026\/09\/whats-happenin-cares-unites-industry-raises-money-for-cancer-research\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Happenin\u2019 Cares Unites Industry, Raises Money for Cancer Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
All images courtesy of Andy Slawetsky<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A golf course provides ample opportunity to kick around ideas, and Andy Slawetsky would agree with that assessment. The CEO behind Industry Analysts, one of the office tech industry\u2019s top news and trends media outlets and someone who frequently tees off at charitable fundraisers, came up with the idea to host his own tournament and raise money for worthwhile causes. With the help of a few industry friends, the project quickly grew wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result was What\u2019s Happenin\u2019 Cares (WHC), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, which for the past two years has been the backbone of the What\u2019s Happenin\u2019 Charity Golf Classic. This year\u2019s event, held at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, Aug. 9-10, raised $215,000 to benefit Blood Cancer United (BCU). The decision to support BCU was made in honor of William Miceli of Pulse Technology, who is afflicted with the disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An impressive 160 golfers, representing all walks of the office ecosystem (dealers, vendors and other contributors to the industry) came together to make the event a rousing success. \u201cEveryone had a great time and it was just a really special couple of days,\u201d Slawetsky said. \u201cIt was very humbling to see everybody show up to that degree. We had incredible support from our partners; most of them jumped on board without asking how much. It made me smile\u2026just makes you feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the event\u2019s highlights was an opening reception that included a video testimonial, which featured Sharp CEO Mike Marusic and his daughter, Julia. She shared her own experience detailing how American Cancer Society research paved the way toward treatment that enabled her to be cancer-free. A dinner that evening was accentuated by golfing staples such as cigars (sponsored by ecoprintQ) and bourbon tasting (ACDI). The next day\u2019s activities included a dinner, awards and charity auction following the tournament, capping off the memorable experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The first event, held at Detroit\u2019s Oakland Hills in 2025, raised $239,000 for the American Cancer Society in honor of the late Sandy Lowery, wife of Applied Innovation CEO John Lowery. In between the golf classics, WHC made donations to City of Hope, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester, Folds of Honor, Make-A-Wish, Puttin\u2019 on the Pink (benefiting ACS) and Kids Tackle Cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slawetsky defers much of the credit to his board\u2014Kevin Van Kannel, Mark Grice and Bob Goldberg\u2014for making the tournament a reality. Van Kannel was instrumental in coordinating with vendors and the digital signage. Grice helped with handling contracts for the dinners and reception, while Goldberg tended to legal matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Slawetsky also had kudos for the tireless efforts of Christine Liphardt, who helped pull everything together as event coordinator. \u201cChristine was really the feet on the street,\u201d he said. \u201cShe got everything done, put in so much time and did a flawless job. I was fortunate to work with some great people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Classic was supported by lead sponsors ConnectWise, GreatAmerica, Konica Minolta, Sharp, Toshiba and Xerox, with additional backing from Static Control Systems, Hytec, PEAC Solutions, ACDI and ecoprintQ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the full-circle moments was the significance of Firestone Country Club. It was the favorite course of Paul Youngberg, the longtime Ross International\/MARS International sales rep who passed away in 2021. Youngberg, an avid golfer, always brought dealer clients to Firestone and was one of the industry\u2019s most beloved figures. He was also a member of the famed Patriot Pack, a group of industry stalwarts who participated in \u201cThe Ride,\u201d an annual fundraiser for The Jillian Fund and veterans groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having MARS leaders such as Mike Sadoski and Raj Thadani in attendance at Firestone added to the poignancy. \u201cWe mentioned in our opening that it was Paul\u2019s dream to have everyone in the industry at this course, and here we all are,\u201d Slawetsky added. \u201cThat was really meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> if you would like to donate to Blood Cancer United.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A golf course provides ample opportunity to kick around ideas, and Andy Slawetsky would agree with that assessment. The CEO behind Industry Analysts, one of the office tech industry\u2019s top news and trends media outlets and someone who frequently tees off at charitable fundraisers, came up with the idea to host his own tournament and raise money for worthwhile causes. With the help of a few industry friends, the project quickly grew wings. The result was What\u2019s Happenin\u2019 Cares (WHC), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, which for the past two years has been the backbone of the What\u2019s Happenin\u2019 Charity Golf Classic. This year\u2019s event, held at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, Aug. 9-10, raised $215,000 to benefit Blood Cancer United (BCU). The decision to support BCU was made in honor of William Miceli of Pulse Technology, who is afflicted with the disease. An impressive 160 golfers, representing all walks of the office ecosystem (dealers, vendors and other contributors to the industry) came together to make the event a rousing success. \u201cEveryone had a great time and it was just a really special couple of days,\u201d Slawetsky said. \u201cIt was very humbling to see everybody show up to that degree. We had incredible support from our partners; most of them jumped on board without asking how much. It made me smile\u2026just makes you feel good.\u201d One of the event\u2019s highlights was an opening reception that included a video testimonial, which featured Sharp CEO Mike Marusic and his daughter, Julia. She shared her own experience detailing how American Cancer Society research paved the way toward treatment that enabled her to be cancer-free. A dinner that evening was accentuated by golfing staples such as cigars (sponsored by ecoprintQ) and bourbon tasting (ACDI). The next day\u2019s activities included a dinner, awards and charity auction following the tournament, capping off the memorable experience. The first event, held at Detroit\u2019s Oakland Hills in 2025, raised $239,000 for the American Cancer Society in honor of the late Sandy Lowery, wife of Applied Innovation CEO John Lowery. In between the golf classics, WHC made donations to City of Hope, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester, Folds of Honor, Make-A-Wish, Puttin\u2019 on the Pink (benefiting ACS) and Kids Tackle Cancer. Slawetsky defers much of the credit to his board\u2014Kevin Van Kannel, Mark Grice and Bob Goldberg\u2014for making the tournament a reality. Van Kannel was instrumental in coordinating with vendors and the digital signage. Grice helped with handling contracts for the dinners and reception, while Goldberg tended to legal matters. Slawetsky also had kudos for the tireless efforts of Christine Liphardt, who helped pull everything together as event coordinator. \u201cChristine was really the feet on the street,\u201d he said. \u201cShe got everything done, put in so much time and did a flawless job. I was fortunate to work with some great people.\u201d The Classic was supported by lead sponsors ConnectWise, GreatAmerica, Konica Minolta, Sharp, Toshiba and Xerox, with additional backing from Static Control Systems, Hytec, PEAC Solutions, ACDI and ecoprintQ. One of the full-circle moments was the significance of Firestone Country Club. It was the favorite course of Paul Youngberg, the longtime Ross International\/MARS International sales rep who passed away in 2021. Youngberg, an avid golfer, always brought dealer clients to Firestone and was one of the industry\u2019s most beloved figures. He was also a member of the famed Patriot Pack, a group of industry stalwarts who participated in \u201cThe Ride,\u201d an annual fundraiser for The Jillian Fund and veterans groups. Having MARS leaders such as Mike Sadoski and Raj Thadani in attendance at Firestone added to the poignancy. \u201cWe mentioned in our opening that it was Paul\u2019s dream to have everyone in the industry at this course, and here we all are,\u201d Slawetsky added. \u201cThat was really meaningful.\u201d Click here if you would like to donate to Blood Cancer United.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":70794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[80,1650,82,1638],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70782"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70782"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70815,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70782\/revisions\/70815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}