By LINDA CHION KENNEY
In raising $151,250 in her “Visionary of the Year” race for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Alani Floyd kept close to her heart Sophia, a family member who 15 years ago, at age 3, died from leukemia one year after diagnosis.
“My overall journey started when my cousin’s daughter was diagnosed, and it has been a part of my story ever since,” said Floyd, an Apollo Beach resident and mother of two young sons, who for years has worked as a sales representative for drugs related to oncology (the branch of medicine specializing in cancer) and hematology (the branch concerned with blood disorders, including leukemia).
Sophia Perez, left, with her parents, Ozzy Perez and Dr. Monique Perez-Bosque.
As a sales representative in 2013, Floyd said she had just gotten a job “selling a therapy that would be used on patients going through what Sophia had been going through.” That experience, Floyd added, plus many more in the business, strengthened her resolve to help anybody who helps anybody fighting to survive cancer, leukemia and other blood disorders.
No surprise then that Shelly Glenn, who works in the oncology space, and as a member of the LLS leadership team, nominated Floyd, her friend, for the LLS North Florida fundraiser involved in the nationwide philanthropic contest. The 10-week fundraising effort kicked off Feb. 22 and ran through May 2.
Donations collected at the race-ending event, at Armature Works in Tampa on May 2, bolstered the tally that had come in through online donations and at live events for the various candidates. The total raised for 2025 amounted to $525,806, which included $169,000 and change, raised by Visionary of the Year Corrine Shamehdi, a nurse practitioner at Tampa General Hospital, and a good friend of Floyd’s.The overall 2025 tally broke the $513,916 record set in 2023, when Craig Beckinger, a fellow south county resident, living in the Belmont community near Sun City Center, finished, like Floyd, in the runner-up position. Beckinger in his 10-week race raised more than $137,000. He said he did so in honor of Diana Niles of Brandon, “an amazing person, who never asked for anything from anyone, and yet she gave to everybody and always had a smile on her face.” Niles, a cancer warrior, died in 2023.
2025 Visionary of the Year Corinne Shamehdi, right, with Alani Floyd, the contest’s runner-up.
Floyd said Beckinger, who was motivated to run his race as a cancer survivor himself, gave her some of the best advice. “He reminded me to think of the person who, like Sophia, walks into the room and exudes light and love,” Floyd said. “Just stay the course and keep that patient in mind, Craig told me, and it doesn’t matter if you win or lose.”
Indeed, “Sophia was so truly a light, and the sweetest, cutest little angel ever,” Floyd said. “And the same goes for my cousin, whose strength and resilience as a mother was so inspiring.”
As for the challenging 10-week fundraiser, Floyd said, “I was just so honored that someone thought of me in that light, to be able to make a change and to change strangers’ lives.”
Each year, visionary race candidates select a pillar of support for which to raise funds, including Advocacy and Research. The third pillar is Patient Education and Support, which Floyd chose, she said, “because had someone not donated money to LLS, my family would have had a greater burden put on them.”
At the outset, Floyd set a goal for her team, which was to raise $50,000, or roughly one-third of her team’s final tally. “My team never wavered, they always were all in, and they just believed in helping,” Floyd said. “It’s all about connecting with people who share your values about helping.”
Courtesy Photos
Visionary of the Year Runner-Up Alani Floyd, pictured with sash, with, from left, team members Erin Summers, Dr. Blessy Jacob and Stephanie Theodoropoulos.
Floyd’s fundraising efforts included an evening at dock aboard the Starship Yacht Sapphire in Tampa; an event at Salty Shamrock in Apollo Beach; an event at the Sarasota Polo Club and at Kendra Scott, a jewelry store, in South Tampa; and the virtual “Reclaim Her” conference out of California, which was “all about inspiring and empowering female leaders,” Floyd said, “and included a panel of female leadership focused on mind, body, spirit and financials.”
At the May 2 gala in Tampa, a silent auction yielded additional funds, as well as calls to “Raise the Paddle” for specific candidates.
“If I could have fallen to my knees I would have,” Floyd said. “I just left with so much gratitude. What I’ve learned is that people truly want to do good in this world. They want to help, and if you want to see things change, you have to be a part of that change.”
For more, visit www.lls.org/.