Alford family gives $1 million to James Cancer Hospital

A Newark woman and her brother have pledged $1 million to Ohio State University’s Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute to advance research in head and neck cancer.
Barb Cantlin and her husband, Mike, of Newark, joined her brother Ron Alford, of Westerville, in promising $1 million to the hospital over the next four years to create an endowed chair in head and neck cancer research, according to a news release from the hospital.

The $1 million donation adds to an original $500,000 donation made by Cantlin and Alford’s father, John Alford, in 1990, according to the release.
A former executive at Park National Bank, John Alford raised his family in Newark. When his wife, Mary, died of stomach cancer, he created an endowment fund for cancer research.
When John Alford died of esophageal cancer in 1996, his children donated an additional $500,000 to create the Mary E. and John W. Alford Cancer Research Endowment Fund, according to the release.
With the additional $1 million pledge, the fund will be renamed The Mary E. and John W. Alford Research Chair in Head and Neck Cancer once it reaches $2 million.
Part of the funding will come from the Alford Foundation, which is run by Ron and Cantlin and primarily supports organizations in Licking County, according to the release.
“We look at this gift as a tribute to our parents, and we are proud that the gift will support cancer research at The James,” Cantlin said in the release. “We always try to give back to Licking County, and there is a clear connection with this gift. We know that plenty of people in Licking County have benefited from The James. Daddy always taught us to give back.”