Calkins: Richard Shadyac Jr. on his legacy, the future, Memphis — and some sports stuff, too
Richard C. Shadyac Jr., CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness arm of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, speaks during The Daily Memphian’s commercial real estate seminar at Memphis Botanic Garden on Dec. 5, 2024. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
After 16 years, Richard Shadyac Jr. has stepped down as CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. I caught up with him Thursday to get his thoughts on his legacy, the hospital’s future, Memphis and some of the sports projects he has been involved in since he arrived. You can read my column on Shadyac’s departure here. What follows are some other highlights from our conversation.
Daily Memphian: What are you most proud of?
Richard Shadyac Jr.: I’m most proud of the lives that we’ve touched. I think about this in terms of live all the time: 8,500 families, kids, come to St. Jude every single year. So you want to put a multiplier on that, times 16, that doesn’t count the research that impacts kids all across the United States and the globe. And then I think about the impact that St. Jude is now having by being in 80 countries.
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