Michael Bice is Proud to Support the George Edgecomb Society
Michael Bice and Roland Daniels are both members of Moffitt Cancer Center’s Hospital Board of Directors and serve on the Quality committee. Because of this, the two often found themselves waiting in the valet parking area together, making small talk and getting to know each other better.
In these conversations, Daniels told Bice about the George Edgecomb Society.
Daniels explained that the society is one of Moffitt’s key health equity initiatives, with a special emphasis on overcoming cancer disparities affecting the Black community.
Bice listened with interest. Later, he joined Daniels on the George Edgecomb Society Steering Committee.
As the two served on the committee together, Daniels realized that Bice had become more than a volunteer. He also had started personally donating.
“That might surprise me about a lot of people, but not about Mike,” said Daniels, who is retired dealer/operator and CEO of Daniels Chevrolet. “When you talk to Mike over a long time, he’s an empathetic person. He’s passionate. He cares about the community as a whole.”
Bice now makes an annual gift to the society and has also made a gift in his will to the group through the Moffitt Foundation.
For his part, Bice says he believes in health equity because everyone should have access to high-quality health care. This cause resonates with him because his own family background.
“I was the oldest of six children, my dad was an Episcopal clergyman and we were not a wealthy family by any measure,” he said.
After serving in the U.S. Navy, he attended college on the G.I. Bill, received a master’s in public health at the University of Michigan and went on to become a CEO at large academic health systems. He also was a professor at the University of Florida and set up an online master’s degree program in health informatics at Kent State University.
“If it wasn’t for the GI Bill, and U.S. public health scholarships, I wouldn’t have had these opportunities,” Bice said. “I pay attention to equity because I’m a beneficiary of it.”
He also pays attention to health care trends and is aware of “the data that shows Black people have higher incidence rates of colorectal and lung cancer” among other disparities.
He said the George Edgecomb Society performs a valuable service by sponsoring research designed to better understand and overcome these disparities. These research grants can also boost the careers of promising scientists, which in turn can inspire students, including those in minority communities, to pursue research careers.
“There are many ways to support the prevention and cure of cancer at Moffitt, and this is one way that I find particularly gratifying,” he said. “I’m proud to be part of it
Each time he makes an annual gift, Bice does so in honor of someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the George Edgecomb Society and the Tampa Bay community.
In this way, he has come full circle. One of his annual gifts was designated to honor Daniels – his friend who first discussed the GES with him during their casual conversations at valet parking at Moffitt.
George Edgecomb Society eLetter: September 2024