Russ, I've never denied that Moffitt is a legitimate, good (actually, great) cancer treatment center and I don't think anyone has said otherwise, although I do remember one post insinuating Moffitt was not really not-for-profit. (Personally, I'm hard-pressed to be convinced that anything but a county hospital or Shriner's and St. Jude's are truly not-for-profits in the medical field.) Totally irrelevant.

Also, to me, there's a huge difference between the charity balls, contributions for wings made by the monied, etc. and pretty much forcing people to contribute whether they believe in the "charity" or not. Almost every event held at Savannah Center now seems to have a portion going to Moffitt. As I've stated, I won't attend an event where a portion of the proceeds go to TV's Moffitt Center, but I really resent not attending some of these events. I truly would have enjoyed some of them but I'll be danged if I'm going to give one nickel to something I feel is unnecessary, of little benefit to the majority and rammed down my throat as if it was the greatest gift ever given.

Third Sentinel Article
 

Love it, redwitch - couldn't agree with you more.:BigApplause:

So true Redwitch. :clap2: We are going to a wine tasting with a group and we are all complaining that part of the ticket goes to Moffitt. One in the group called the business and were told the business was forced into the whole deal. Nice way to strong arm a business which was told their rent would go up if they didn't cooperate. :ohdear:

While I will say that I do have issues with the fund raising for the Moffitt Center, at the same time I can not agree that it is unnecessary or of little benefit to the majority.
After having a loved one go through various treatments and finding out what is and is not covered under insurance I fully understand the need for "options" when it comes to cancer treatments and insurance. Not all treatment centers are accepted by every insurance company. As an example when my wife needed treatment for her cancer we were faced with the option of "in plan" centers that were 2 hours away and out of state or two others that would mean we had to fly to those cities. She choose the one that was one hour away and in state but "out of plan" which required a much higher out of pocket from us. I do not know if this will be an issue here but it certainly could be. I can not begin to count how many family and friends have been touched by my wife's fight with cancer and according to the American Cancer Society about 569,000 Americans were expected to die in 2010 from cancer. So I then wonder how many of those 569,000 families and families such as mine who are still fighting this disease would feel that a new cancer center would only benefit the majority and is thus unnecessary.
Some may just feel that Moffitt in TV is unnecessary and that is certainly their privilege but my guess is that if they ever need treatment things will probably be seen in a different light.

TRUE DAT..............

Does anyone know if the Chili Cookoff next Saturday is being strong-armed for a percentage also?

Larry - I agree that if this happened it would be awful. But "rent would go up"? Doesn't pass the sniff test. In fact I would think that would be illegal tactics and probably actionable if it took place. Do you mean the rent for the event or for their business location? If it was location and they have that on record then that is called racketeering.

Red - Yes it is unfortunate that people are not attending events based on the charity of choice. But I have attended many things that say "a portion of the proceeds...". Quite frankly if I want to attend the event I do. I don't let the fact that a portion of the proceeds go to a charity of not my choice affect me.

I think everyone needs to understand that they should only believe about half of what anyone says and less than a third of what they read. Use your own sniff test and ask for more detailed answers.

Larry, I think much of the criticism about the tactics is quite well deserved, but that accusation is just beyond the pale.

It's one thing to disapprove of the tactics, but quite another to believe anything that supports your position regardless of how outlandish and unsubstantiated. It sounds as if you are making an accusation of criminal conduct. Do you even have any evidence beyond someone said? Good grief!

russ, i agree it doesn't pass the sniff test, but then there is a lot of purported information posted here that is unsubstantiated, it's the nature of the beast, welcome to the internet....gn

spk, I'd totally agree with you that a Moffitt in TV would be totally necessary but for one fact -- Moffitt had already agreed to have one at Leesburg, which will actually be closer to those who live in the south end of TV than the one being built in TV. Sorry, I can see no need for two centers of the exact same kind being built that close together.

russ, I've been very vocal about how I feel about a Moffitt Center in TV. To then let my $$ knowingly go to Moffitt would be very hypocritical. So, I'll continue staying away from events that support something I don't.

You should spend your money as you see fit of course. That's what I've been saying all along - vote with your feet if you feel inclined.

Personally I don't care if the same business decides to have two locations near each other. I only assume that they've done their homework. Unfortunately (for those that need the facility) I'll bet they will both succeed.

Then it all comes down to choice and if I was in the situation of needing care and my doctor recommended Mofitt then I would go to the facility "on property" even though Leesburg may be closer to my house. And I suspect a number of people in TV would probably choose the same.

Having said all of that I do not believe this to be an issue of two facilities close together but an issue of how the funding is being handled. That I do not agree with.

Food for thought, “I would go to the facility "on property" even though Leesburg may be closer to my house. And I suspect a number of people in TV would probably choose the same.” I go along with that, so I wonder why with all the nice restaurants in TV why would TOTV go to Leesburg to have a get together. I could not figure that from the day it was announced if for no other reason than if you want to see you local business tomorrow you should support it today.

Probably because they are a (new?) advertising clent of TOTV.

According to the latest Sentinel article, there’s already an independent treatment center in Leesburg. So there will be a total of 4 treatment centers. Of course, by 2015, TV plans to have an additional 25,000 residents.

P.S. It’s not just TV residents that are being asked to donate funds. They are holding fund raising meetings with residents in the adjacent communities too.