We all love the beach. Everything about it conjures up memories of the surf against the sand, seagull calls, boardwalk lights and sounds, the scent of salt air and funnel cakes. Most of all, basking in the summer heat made jumping in the ocean so much more enjoyable. Then, imagine one day realizing that those memories lead to the one thing that can be the most frightening of all things. In April 2003, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 melanoma cancer.

Many years of unprotected exposure to sun caused the cancer. I grew up spending summers on the beach. My family owns a beach home and I will always love spending time on the beach with my family. I knew that I needed to find a way to be protected by the harmful UV rays while still being able to enjoy quality beach time with my family. Fortunately, my wife Ronnie is a registered nurse. She made it her mission to find products that would protect me from the sun. The one product that stood out was the UV-Blocker beach umbrella. It is unique in design and exceptional in performance. We now own three UV-Blocker beach umbrellas, which have become favorites among all family members. The UV-Blocker umbrella not only protected me from harmful UV rays, but it also kept me ten to fifteen degrees cooler than a regular beach umbrella. My Uncle Joe calls it “the air conditioned umbrella”.

I'm looking forward to sharing pictures from my outdoor excursions and helping spread the word about the product that let me outside again.