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Steve Howard wanted everyone to know Tuesday night that he was not an auctioneer, but then the Bruins head coach was able to more than double the opening bid of $300 for a pair of Black & Gold Gala tickets and with that, 2024’s Paint the Town Pink was off and running.

That bid came in at $700 when it was all said and done and it set the tone for the annual string of events that leading up to this year has raised nearly $3 million dollars for seed grants at The Hormel Institute.

It was just part of the festivities Tuesday night and were part of the Business After Hours at the Institute that also serves as the kick off for the campaign, which started in 2010 with the first-ever Paint the Rink Pink.

“Here we go again,” Institute Executive Director Dr. Robert Clarke said Tuesday night. “Look at what you started.”

“This has been an absolutely amazing event,” he continued. “I just want to thank you personally. Thanks for all you do and thanks for what you will do.”

Since 1991, cancer deaths have dropped 30% and since the mid 1970s survivability has grown 68%. In the overarching world  of research, the Institute and its scientists have played their role in furthering what is known about cancer.

Since Paint the Town Pink began, 36 seed grants have been given out to Institute scientists. With these grants, the scientists further refine their proofs of concept, which ultimately lead to larger grants from outside of the Institute.

Aside from the night’s festivities, however, the kick-off is also the opportunity to meet the faces of those directly impacted by cancer.

Jessie Meyer is one of those faces and has been named this year’s ambassador.

“I would say it’s an honor,” Meyer said of being selected. “I hope I am able to represent many people in expressing gratitude for this honor.”

Meyer was first diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer at the age of 35 on May 6, 2016. It’s a particularly aggressive form of cancer with a high rate of recurrence. The mother of three admitted that the news shook her life.

“I had no idea how this diagnosis would change my life,” she said.

In telling her story Tuesday night, Meyer said that she went through the treatment and came out the other side, though she continued to stay vigilant along with her doctors. Then, in September of 2018, Meyer discovered a lump that signaled the recurrence she feared, and while she admitted to an uncertain future, Meyer’s family  remained constant.

“‘Mom, you beat it before and you will beat it again,’” she remembered her son saying, but she always remembered what her doctors and it was something she repeated Tuesday night.

“I have options,” she said.

Meyer stressed to people to not let complacency set the future when it comes to early detection and for others to stay vigilant.

At the same time, she also said that the future is brighter now than ever before.

“I would like to think people who are being told they don’t have an option will find out they do have options,” Meyer said.

For information on upcoming events that are part of Paint the Town Pink, visit: www.hi.umn.edu/events/paint-the-town-pink/.

The first event of this year’s campaign is on Jan. 20 with the Dutchtown Jumpers Cook-Off Swedish Meatball competition at the Hoot & Ole’s Bar & Grill.

Among the other events is the aforementioned Black & Gold Gala on Jan. 31, new to this year’s slate of activities.