Dwight W. Vicks, III, President of Vicks Lithograph & Printing (Yorkville, NY) has been named by the Printing Industries Alliance’s Franklin Committee as recipient of the John Peter Zenger Medal at its 60th Franklin Event celebration on September 19, 2012 at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers (5:30-10:00 pm).

The Zenger Medal, by an open-industry nomination process, is awarded to an individual employed in the graphic communications industry within New York, northern New Jersey and northwestern Pennsylvania who has exemplified outside of his or her professional role exemplary character in the form of selfless courage, charity, activism or service.

Mr. Vicks was nominated for his work in supporting thyroid cancer research including the establishment of the International Thyroid Oncology Group (ITOG) for which Dwight serves as Treasurer and Secretary. His wife, Jean, was diagnosed with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in 1999 during which time very little was known about this rare form of cancer and afflicted individuals were faced with few options.

Because his personal investigation of the disease showed little information about it and the doctors and medical facilities which were researching it and trying to develop treatment protocols were both scarce and geographically dispersed, Dwight decided to cut back on his industry and community involvement and devote all his time, energy and resources to thyroid cancer.  In 2005, he resigned his position as Treasurer of Printing Industries of America, even though there was an excellent probability that he would have been elevated at some point to its Chairmanship.

Through contact with the physicians and institutions, he was able to bring this small medical community together in regular informal meetings to discuss treatment options and clinical trials. In 2007, Dwight was the driving force behind the establishment of the International Thyroid Oncology Group (ITOG), a non-profit organization comprised of endocrinologists, oncologists, thyroid surgeons and radiation specialists from North America, Europe and Australia (http://itog.org). As of this date, the ITOG membership consists of over 50 of the world’s leading physicians and research scientists who focus on the treatment of thyroid cancer that has metastasized outside the thyroid gland.  In 2011, Dwight was named by Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, one of the top cancer facilities in America, as a member of “The One Hundred” for his unflagging optimism.  He has quietly and singlehandedly raised over $500,000 in the race for an MTC cure and subsequently started a broader fundraising effort called “Team Jean” which is already halfway uto its goal of raising an additional $500,000 in 2012 and anticipates a similar target in 2013.  

For more information on how to contribute to “Team Jean” or to register for the Franklin Event, contact either PIA President Tim Freeman ([email protected], (716-691-3211) or Vice President Vicki Keenan ([email protected],(908-233-4124) .