by Rich Fisher, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — For Michael Lisa, it’s all about support.

Lisa, the official Meadowlands Racetrack photographer, is staging his fourth annual Lisa Photo Stride For The Cure event at the Big M during this Saturday night’s races. All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society as the event continues its goal of “Making strides against breast cancer.”

And while Lisa obviously would like to raise as much money as possible, it’s not his top priority. On the flier he created, it states “Any donation is appreciated BUT what we really want is for you to BE HERE on this special night. Meet up with some old friends or make some new ones. We all know how important a support team is. WELL, WE’RE BUILDING A BIG ONE!!”

Basically, just by showing up, you become part of the team. The ultimate goal of the night is to gain support and raise awareness. People who are dealing with the disease in one way or another can be there to bolster and be bolstered by other folks going through the same thing. For those blessed not to be affected, they too can make people feel better by showing they are supportive of the cause.

“You get more and more people aware by building on a huge support system,” Lisa said. “You talk to somebody and you would mention something about cancer, and someone would say, ‘Yeah, my sister or my mother had it’ and they say ‘I’ll be there.’ You want that support system. It’s so important when you go through it.”

Lisa has gone through it not once, but twice. In 1997 he had a bittersweet year when his youngest son was born, but he lost his mother Angelina to breast cancer.

In 2009, his wife Annette was diagnosed with the disease. It was then that Lisa decided to fight back.

“It was something I felt strongly about,” he said. “A couple days after her surgery she was getting chemotherapy and the American Cancer Society played such a big part in everything. They’re such a great organization and we knew we’d like to give something back.”

It was during the chemo treatments that Annette and Michael looked at each other and made their decision.

“You’re sitting there for hours with the chemo, and we just decided during that time it was time to do something,” Lisa said.

The good news is that Annette is “doing great” and is looking forward to celebrating her five-year anniversary of being cancer-free next year.

“The doctors told us every fifth year is a big year,” Lisa said. “So we’re looking forward to that. She went through hell for a year, had three or four surgeries and chemo and radiation and the whole deal. But she’s at the gym now, gets there at five in the morning and is just doing great.”

Annette is part of an ever-growing support team that Michael has built since his first event in 2010. Things started slowly but in the past two years the Stride For The Cure has taken off with support from Lisa’s bosses.

“Since the new ownership took over they have really gotten behind me 100 percent and stepped up in a big way,” Lisa said. “(New Meadowlands Chairman) Jeff Gural is a giving person; he does a lot of charities. It’s been great.

“I can’t say enough about how much the Meadowlands has been behind me with the new ownership and the new GM (Jason Settlemoir). Sam McKee has done a lot to help. And next year we’re moving into the new building. That’s just beautiful up there so it’s going to just get better and better.”

Which it has done each year as far as support and proceeds.

This year there will be a 5K race around the track at 3 p.m., and the Stride For The Cure begins at 7 with racing starting at 7:15. The festivities will revolve around the races and includes a number of fun activities.

There will be live music featuring The Past Masters, Bobby Strange and special guests. Specially designed t-shirts, hoodies, hats and other merchandise will be sold, along with prize drawings, a silent auction, giveaways and food and drink specials. Admission is only $2.

As always, it comes back to support.

“This is a great way to get together with a huge support system,” Lisa said. “Everyone has been touched one way or another. It doesn’t necessarily have to be breast cancer. I know people who are going through terrible stuff with their children I can’t even imagine.

“I wish I could do it all for everyone. But I chose breast cancer because that’s what affected us. And this has gotten bigger and better each year.”

So have the contributors. Skip Smith, the track photographer at Pompano Park, has taken the design Lisa came up with and printed them on mugs that he donates to the event. Numerous businesses have donated gift baskets to be raffled off and the New York Giants have supplied a football signed by Justin Tuck as a prize.

Conny Svensson, who works as a farrier for the Jimmy Takter Stable, also chipped in.

“I saw an image of a horse shoe shaped into a ribbon,” Lisa said. “I sent him the idea and a week later he had a dozen ribbon-shaped horse shoes in my office that we can sell.”

Not to be forgotten has been the help from drivers, trainers and their wives, including Kelly Ford, Julie Miller, Kristen Bartlett, Amber Buter and Abby Simpson.

Brian Palladino, owner of Becor Sports in Lodi, N.J., has donated shirts and opened his doors for Lisa to do all the screen printing. That, however, was not without incident. On Wednesday night, Lisa had an adventure that harkened back to Honeymooner Ralph Kramden getting stuck between pipes before the fire company came to bail him out.

“I’m pushing myself, saying ‘I gotta get this last batch of shirts done,’” he said. “Somehow I tripped the fire alarm. Now, Lodi is a little town, and all of a sudden the fire engines are outside, the lights are glowing, the sirens are blaring. I was inside vacuuming and I guess the dust hit the smoke alarm.

“They came running through the door with their uniforms and axes. I was like ‘I’m all right!’”

Fortunately, Lisa wasn’t thrown in jail for tripping a false alarm, and he will be on hand Saturday night for what he feels will be the biggest event yet.

“Last year we had a good showing, this year we’re hoping to get more,” he said. “It’s funny, because it’s a combination of horse people, and just friends I know. I grew up in Hoboken, it’s 12 miles from the track, and a lot of my friends help me out too.

“It’s just a great way to get out. It’s a great place to be, a fun place to be. What better way to go out and have fun and fight against a horrible disease.”

What better way indeed than to lend your support.

* * * *

If anyone who can’t make it Saturday wants to donate to the event, Lisa says to send a check to the American Cancer Society and just note that it is in support of Stride For The Cure.

Also, if anyone wants to donate any type of prizes to next year’s event, they can e-mail Lisa at lisaphoto@newmracing.com.