Cancer Institute holds retirement lunch for Sara Jane Gainor

WVU Cancer Institute faculty and staff are singing the praises of Bonnie’s Bus Program Director Sara Jane Gainor as she leaves the mobile mammography program established nine years ago to begin a new chapter of her life. During a retirement lunch at the Cancer Institute this past Tuesday they shared the impact Gainor has had on them personally and on the program. “She grew this program from infancy, and it was a labor of love,” Stephenie Kennedy, EdD, associate director for Cancer Prevention and Control, said. Cancer Institute Director Rich Goldberg, MD, said Gainor had made a “powerful difference,” adding that he is glad she is staying on to help bring a new Cancer Institute lung cancer screening bus program to fruition. Jim Keresztury, director of the Mountains of Hope Cancer Coalition, said Gainor’s work with the Coalition impacted everyone across West Virginia. Laura Gibson, PhD, senior associate vice president for research and graduate education at HSC and deputy director of the Cancer Institute, said she always appreciated Gainor’s laugh as well as her dedication to the Bus Program. Stacy Tressler, program coordinator, thanked Gainor for being her mentor and boss. Gainor’s daughters Alexis McMillan and Rachael Crites congratulated her on her decades long career and said they were glad that their mom will be able to spend more time at home and with them and their families now.

“I’m so proud of the work we do for women in West Virginia,” Gainor said as she thanked attendees for their love, respect and support. “Working at the Cancer Institute and the Bonnie’s Bus Program is one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.”