Friends of Fish-
As most of you are aware, our buddy John Fisher (affectionately known as “Fish”) has been going through a challenging time. In early September, Fish was diagnosed with Acute Leukemia. He is currently on his second round of aggressive treatment at Penn Hospital. Fish and his doctors are optimistic for a positive outcome and we know he is in the best hands, receiving cutting edge treatment so that he can be back in the office, driving all of his SEI friends crazy in no time. His spirit and attitude are truly inspiring. His updates sound like he is the model patient and doing whatever is needed to fight the fight and kick cancer’s ass.

In addition to a top notch medical team, he has an incredible support network of family and friends in his corner. And why wouldn’t he? If you know Fish at all, you know two things about him. First – he loves to laugh. His sarcastic, hilarious sense of humor and love of the word “snarky” are things you can’t help but think of when you think of him. Second – despite the sarcasm, he has a bit of a bleeding heart and a caring soul that makes him often the first to ask “what can we do” when anyone is going through any kind of challenge, personally or professionally. For over three decades at SEI, he has touched the lives of all of us, probably not even knowing just how deeply most of the time. He is the definition of “a friend in your corner”.

And so, in honor of his fight, and his natural instinct to give back, and for all the times he’s been there for us, we are kicking off a virtual blood drive campaign in his honor. All too often, cancer patients are in need of blood transfusions and this effort will help many get the life-saving blood they need while they are fighting their own good fight. And there’s nothing snarky about that!

We also know Fish loves a good competition so to make this interesting we are setting a goal of 100 pledges. Over the next 90 days we are asking Friends of Fish to pledge a donation and then visit your nearest Red Cross center to fulfill that pledge and donate blood. If they ask you for a sponsor code, use “friends of fish”. Please feel free to share this with anyone who wants to participate – Friends of Fish is an open invitation. Given the environment we are in, this is a safe and easy way to do something in honor of our buddy.

On behalf of Fish and his SEI Family, we thank you for keeping him in your thoughts and for honoring him in this way.