LAGRANGE, IL – March 19, 2026 – The H Foundation has opened the call for nominations for its Rick Wiedemer Guiding Light Award, which is presented at the foundation’s annual Goombay Bash event in Chicago, the lighting industry’s largest philanthropic event. Through the Goombay Bash and other initiatives, the foundation has raised more than $15 million for basic science cancer research over more than two decades.
In 2017, The H Foundation created the Guiding Light Award to specifically honor companies and individuals in the lighting community for their consistent and enduring efforts supporting the foundation’s mission to fund basic science research and find a cure for cancer. The inaugural award was presented to lighting industry companies Generation Brands, Hinkley, Kichler, Quoizel, Satco and WAC Lighting. Subsequent recipients have included Lighting One President Gregg Garofalo, Hubbardton Forge CEO Maria Mullen, former WAC Lighting Co-CEOs Dirk & Shelley Wald, Satco President Bill Gildin, and Satco Vice President of Global Sales Alan Karen. In 2022, the award was given posthumously to former Hinkley CEO Rick Wiedemer, for whom the award is now named.
The Rick Wiedemer Guiding Light Award is given annually to an individual or company who exemplifies the leadership qualities that will guide others towards a brighter future in which no one will suffer the hardships of this horrible disease that affects one in three people. It celebrates the community spirit that has used ingenuity to shine a spotlight on and raise money for basic science cancer research. The lighting industry alone is responsible for over $5 million of what The H Foundation has raised for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center’s basic science research to date, and many members of the lighting industry serve as volunteers and cheerleaders for the cause.
Anyone in the lighting industry may nominate an individual or a company for the Rick Wiedemer Guiding Light Award, regardless of their involvement specifically with The H Foundation or its Goombay Bash, which will take place July 25, 2026, at the AON Grand Ballroom on Chicago’s Navy Pier.
The eligibility requirements for nominees are:
• Must be within the Lighting Industry
• Must demonstrate a strong past and ongoing commitment to supporting cancer research
To submit a nomination, please visit: https://www.hfoundation.org/guiding-light-nomination. All 2026 nominations must be submitted by April 17 and will be reviewed by the Rick Wiedemer Guiding Light Award Committee before the recipient is announced in April.
About The H Foundation
The H Foundation is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization, with 100% of funding supplied through donations. Since its inception, it has raised over $15 million for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. These funds are used as seed money for basic science cancer research projects to help them compete for additional government or private funding. As a result, donations have been leveraged into over $300 million of research dollars towards finding a cure.
Launched in 2001, The H Foundation was created, as many great ideas are, over a cocktail – this one named the “Goombay Smash.” It started out as a few friends with entrepreneurial spirit who decided they could make a difference in the fight against cancer. As a result, for the past 25 years, the organization has hosted the Goombay Bash, a Caribbean-themed fundraising event held at Navy Pier that now draws over 1,000 guests and raises over $1.2 million, along with other special events that make a difference in the fight against cancer.
