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People On The Move - Frank Somma
06/29/2009 - By by Chad A. Safran
DEDICATED TO A CAUSE
Frank Somma rises each morning by 5:30 in order to hit the gym and make it [on time] to his office in the West Village at Abel Cine Tech – a company that deals with professional film and HD equipment. Then he returns to his Holmdel home around 7 pm…not much different than many county residents with a daily commute to New York City. It is, however, what Frank does when he is not working as a national sales director that makes him a standout in the community. He has been actively involved with the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation (CAF) for 24 years, as well as having been known for his motivational public speaking appearances.
Frank’s work with CAF is deeply personal as a result of his 24-year-old daughter Alicia having been diagnosed with the condition at the age of 8 months. Her skin had an orange tint and her behavior was lethargic, leading to the diagnosis of the disease (also known as Thalassemia). CAF is part of a group of genetic blood disorders that disallows the healthy production of red blood cells. It’s fatal and there’s no known cure, yet it is treatable through red blood cell transfusions every 2 to 3 weeks in combination with chelation therapy to help the body remove excess iron as a result of the transfusion. The therapy is administered using either Desferal (a medication infused five to seven times per week for up to 12 hours at a time) or by ingesting a daily pill – Exjade. Alicia’s older sister Christine, who is president of the local CAF chapter, accompanies Alicia to her bi-weekly transfusion appointments at New York Hospital.
While Frank now serves as the organization’s Legislative Committee Vice President, he’s served in many roles with the group. He first worked at the chapter level, and was then asked to sit on the national board where, upon arrival in 1996, he was elected vice president. Six months later he became CAF’s president after the previous leader quit. “There were a ton of things to do, including build a website, which didn’t exist back then,” says Frank, who held the office for more than 9 years. “I had to create a better community… fundraising, negotiating with the FDA… I spent a lot of time in Congress testifying in front of the House Finance Committee trying to get money approved for diseases that are often forgotten about.”
Alicia also spoke at the hearings, and their work helped get a grant for the Center of Disease Control (CDC) to monitor the safety of the blood supply in the United States. The program, known as the Thalassemia Data and Blood Specimen Collection System, helps the CDC find diseases in the blood supply before they get to the public at large, helping to create a safer blood network for everyone. Thalassemia patients are the largest consumers of red blood in the United States.
Fundraising is still a big part of Frank’s work with CAF. In 2006 he raised more than $27,000 by running in the New York City Marathon. In the past 2 years he has helped raise $90,000, along with the NJ Elks Association, through the Polar Plunge in Belmar. Additionally, for the past 21 years his family has sponsored a dinner/ dance each February at the Staten Island Hilton. CAF’s biggest supporter, with more than $1 million contributed annually, is the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA). The first carriers of the disease were often those of Mediterranean descent.
CAF is just part of Frank’s work. As a certified practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP – a set of attitudes, principles, and techniques regarding real life behavior) Frank has conducted motivational programs and delivered keynote speeches to employees of such companies as Pitney Bowes™, GE, and K. Hovnanian®. He also gives his time to local high schools, speaking about and teaching classes on leadership and goal setting. “It’s something I just love to do,” says Frank. “I was really blessed to learn how to plan, how to set goals, how to organize. I talk about real tools they can use to make them better people.”
Although speaking is a large part of his life, Frank could easily be a role model for dedication without saying a word.
STATS
FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
Babbo, NYC and 410 Bank Street, Cape May
FAVORITE MUSICIANS
Ella Fitzgerald, 1930’s to 50’s Jazz
FAVORITE MOVIE
Old Yeller
PET PEEVE
complainers
FOUR PEOPLE YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
Martin Luther King, Ernest Hemingway, and Zig Ziglar, and Pope John Paul II
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