Our annual Rays of Hope Award honors the late Richard Heimler, a GO2 for Lung Cancer board member and a powerful voice of hope in the lung cancer community. The Rays of Hope Award recognizes a person who has demonstrated leadership in engaging community, raising awareness, and inspiring hope from their own personal experience with the disease.
Recognizing excellence in community engagement and awareness
The annual awardee is charged with sharing their powerful voice in support of the lung cancer community and on behalf of GO2 for Lung Cancer. Each year, we empower the awardee as a GO2 spokesperson nationally, locally, and virtually, to speak at key conferences, share their story on our website, and invite them to join our National Ambassador Council. The recipient will also be recorded on a video that will be featured on our website, social media platforms, and various other communications channels. The recipient will be announced and recognized at our annual Lung Cancer Voices Summit and will join the Rays of Hope selection committee for the subsequent year.
2024 award winner
Congratulations to our 2024 Rays of Hope Award winner, actor and director Tony Goldwyn.
Tony selflessly gave his time, voice, and national stature to advance our cause that is personal to him, having lost his mother to the disease. Tony’s message of hope—that no one should face lung cancer alone and that GO2 is their go-to—is continually reinforced to millions who see our PSA on TV, in medical offices, waiting rooms, pharmacies, bus stops, over the radio, and more.
GO2, along with Richard’s daughter Rachel Heimler, and 2023 Rays of Hope Award recipient Larry Gershon, presented Tony with the award at GO2’s Evening of Excellence event in New York City on June 13, 2024. Tony was also honored at GO2’s annual gala in November.
About Richard
Richard Heimler brought both empathy and reality to lung cancer and his diagnosis, connecting to the lung cancer community on a national platform with his prose and poignancy.
He was a sought-after speaker for companies and public venues across the country and made a tremendous impact with his hopeful message. The Rays of Hope Award embodies all that Richard Heimler represented in his journey with lung cancer—leadership in generating awareness and understanding of the disease and sharing compassion that helped many patients and families through their journey.
The award is named after the celebration of the 10th anniversary of his diagnosis, when copies of his diagnostic X-rays were painted over by family members with cheerful and hopeful images—turning a negative into a positive. The accompanying video, “Richard’s Rays of Hope,” presented an inspirational message and has been viewed by thousands worldwide on YouTube and Facebook.
Richard was a 13-year survivor of lung cancer and resided in Stamford, CT, before passing in September 2017.
Along with his involvement with GO2, including serving as a member of the Board of Directors, Richard was a community leader in many ways serving for the Northwestern University Alumni Association, Jewish Federation of North Jersey, Hetrick Martin Institute, and so many others. He also served as a Board Member of the American Cancer Society and Co-chair the Ad Program for Gala on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign.
