MILWAUKEE'S QUILTED NORTHERN SOFT & STRONG® CHAMPION - KIMBERLEY SMITH
Kimberley Smith is the 2011 Quilted Northern Soft & Strong® Champion for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® event in Milwaukee on Sunday, Sept. 25. Smith, an avid supporter of the local Milwaukee chapter, has been diagnosed twice with breast cancer since 1997.
Smith was first diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 31. She underwent numerous therapies and was declared cancer-free until 2009. That year, Smith went in for her routine mammogram and was told there was another abnormality. Immediately, Smith underwent a double mastectomy and began chemotherapy and radiation.
"My mother was first diagnosed at age 23 and died from breast cancer when she was just 30 years old," Smith said. "I'll never forget watching my mom go through this. She was so young."
Today, Smith dedicates her time and takes every opportunity she can to share her story and experience with others.
"I want to help others around me. I want to share my story with anyone who will listen and say, 'I'm going through it, but I'm still here... I'm still fighting... I'm still trying to make it, and you can too.'"
A faithful participant in the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the CureŽ event, Smith will walk this year's route with purpose and dedication to beating this disease. She is an inspiration to all those around her.
Smith and her husband, Jerry, have been married for 28 years and are the proud parents of a son, Jerry, and a daughter, LaRita, and the proud grandparents of three beautiful children, Kayla, Khalil and Jaylen. She and her husband currently reside in Milwaukee.
Georgia-Pacific is proud to call Kimberley Smith a Quilted Northern Soft & Strong® Champion.
