Roswell Park Recognizes Staff, Community Supporters at 5th Annual Eva M. Noles Program

BUFFALO, NY — DeMarco Ogletree, a cashier in the Nutrition & Food Service Department at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Roswell Park), earned the $2,000 Eva M. Noles Scholarship Friday, December 7 at the fifth annual Eva M. Noles Scholarship and Community Recognition Breakfast at Roswell Park. The annual program honors the legacy of Eva M. Noles, RN, Buffalo’s first African-American registered nurse and a longtime Roswell Park employee who served in many leadership roles at the Institute, including as Director of Nursing.

Ogletree joined the Roswell Park staff in the spring of 2012. He is presently pursuing degrees in both nursing and theology at Erie Community College and plans to continue his work in healthcare, helping to fight health disparities in the Buffalo area. “From his first days with us, DeMarco has committed himself wholeheartedly to the Roswell Park mission,” said David Scott, Roswell Park Director of Diversity and Inclusion. “He has contributed greatly as an employee, and now we have a great opportunity to reward that commitment — which embodies the work, spirit and legacy of Ms. Noles — and help him achieve his career goals by providing a scholarship toward his studies.”

Darius G. Pridgen, Pastor of True Bethel Baptist Church in Buffalo and Ellicott District Councilmember for the City of Buffalo, gave the keynote address at the program, during which several Roswell Park staff members and volunteers were recognized for their role in providing cancer education and preventive outreach to underserved communities throughout Western New York. Among those recognized were Georganne Alexander, a volunteer with the Buffalo/Niagara Witness Project; Ramon Luciano Jr., a volunteer with  Minorities Allied for the Need to Understand Prostate Cancer (MAN UP); Carmen Sepulvedad, a volunteer with the Esperanza y Vida Project; and Gloria Quarles, a volunteer who serves on Roswell Park’s Community Advisory Steering Committee.

Staff and volunteers were also recognized for their contributions to Cruisin’ for a Cure, a prostate cancer education and screening event held at Roswell Park in September, and to the African American Roswell Employee Network, whose activities include year-round community outreach on behalf of Roswell Park.

The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit Roswell Park’s website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email AskRoswell@Roswellpark.org.