Jacqueline Hanson

Blake was, and still is a huge part of my life.

We lived together, built homes together, hiked and traveled together and so much more. My husband and I often ask ourselves “what would Blake do?” because the way he lived his life was inspirational. He was mine and my husband’s best friend and a third parent to our two sons. We thread him through our days, every day, and our love lives on.

Cancer, of all forms, impacts so many. The diagnosis is a shock to the system, the fight is heart wrenching, and the experience has changed me forever. Although this experience dealt me many of my darkest days, it also gave me clarity, perspective and purpose. I believe now more than ever that life is about love, human connection and helping others. We want nothing more than to champion Blake’s memory by offering support to others in his honor.

Jacqueline lives in North Bend, Washington - on the property she and her family built together, with Blake.

She is a Graduate of the University of Washington with a Bachelors in Psychology and has been employed by Amazon for 18 years. She is currently a Principal Product Manager at Amazon.

Candace Christensen

Blake was smart, successful and caring. He was always looking for new ways to grow culturally and spiritually, hence, his love of travel. My husband and I had the amazing opportunity to travel with Blake to Bali. We learned about Hinduism, which is centered on maintaining a harmonious relationship with God, people, and nature. Just as in Christianity, Hindus believes life does not end at the death of the physical body. The body dies but the soul does not. This, I believe. Also, while in Bali Blake made sure that we bought and delivered gifts and school supplies to a local orphanage.

Losing Blake is devastating. Every child has so many lessons to teach their parents. Every child is a gift. When all is going well, you take that for granted.

I was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer within months of Blake’s Diagnosis. I credit his positive attitude and fighting spirit for getting me through all my treatments and surgery. I am currently NED, which means “ no evidence of disease”. Blake and I were so lucky to have the support of family and friends. This is a gift that we can still pay forward.

Candace lives with her husband and Blake’s dad, Steve, in Olympia. In addition to Blake, she has two inspiring daughters, Heidi and Jacqueline, an unbelievable son-in-law, Daniel, and four talented grandchildren, Julian, Marielle, Caton and Camden.  She treasures time with family and friends, gardening and travel.

Candace earned her undergraduate degree from Washington State University. She spent 13 years as a flight attendant with Northwest Orient Airlines. After leaving the airline industry, she earned her Master’s degree in Education from St. Martin’s University and served as a school counselor until her retirement in 2016.

Frances Holtman

Frances is a long-time friend and colleague of Blake. She met Blake when he was in high school when he played tennis with her nephew, Matt. She had the privilege of working with him at Slalom for 8 years and experienced many fun outdoor adventures with him.

Frances is passionate about making a positive impact in the world, and believes as Blake did, that there is a cure and we just need to find it. She loves exploring the outdoors - skiing, hiking, and being on the water - any day outside and in the mountains is a great day.

Frances lives in the Seattle area with her husband, Eric. She is an Executive Coach and Senior Director at Slalom.

Matt Reus

Matt Reus has been a close friend of Blake for 30+ years — long enough to have witnessed questionable haircuts, multiple shoulder dislocations and every  life stage in between. Their friendship began in childhood and was fueled by competition, and a shared determination to win at just about everything.

Matt is a private investor whose career spans, 20+ year in private equity and investment banking. Matt is currently a Managing Director at Arable Capital Partners, where he focuses on sourcing and executing investments and sits on many boards across Arable’s portfolio of companies, where he helps leadership teams grow and manage their businesses.  Prior to joining Arable in 2019, he was at Cascadia Capital and a founding member of its Food & Agribusiness team.  He began his career in investment banking and fixed income at Citizens Capital Markets and Wachovia Securities.

Matt earned his M.B.A. from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and a B.A. in Philosophy and Economics from the University of Washington. He lives in the Bellevue area with his wife and two daughters.

Danny Hanson

Blake continues to inspire me everyday.  He was a close friend, who also happened to be my brother-in-law. We built a tight bond while travelling, golfing, and hiking together. Blake often reminded me of the importance of going on adventures, not taking life too seriously, and making an impact.  Simply put, the guy was legendary.  His legacy not only drives our mission, but it continues to shape those of us who were lucky enough to know him.
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In his spare time, he enjoys going on family adventures, raising two amazing sons, and coaching their football and wrestling teams in the Snoqualmie valley.     

Danny is a CPA and finance professional who has been with the Snoqualmie Tribe and Snoqualmie Casino for the past eleven years and currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Snoqualmie Casino.

Steve Pottle

Shyla Reus

Rodney Bergsma