Lana Athey Takes the Reins at Gunnison Tough

A Smooth Transition for a Valued Community Organization

Together, Heidi and Lana, with the enthusiastic and generous support of the Gunnison Tough board and community members from across the Gunnison Valley, have taken a holistic look at the impact cancer has on an individual’s life. They developed their programs to address barriers to care and healing. Gunnison Tough has helped with every aspect of cancer care from supporting Gunnison Valley Health in purchasing top-of-the-line equipment like the 3-d mammography machine to making sure that locals with cancer had access to transportation to get to treatment appointments outside of Gunnison County.

When asked about what initially intrigued her about Gunnison Tough, Lana shared about attending a Health Coalition of the Gunnison Valley meeting when she was working for Gunnison County Health and Human Services. At the meeting, she learned that Gunnison Tough had recently purchased a vehicle for individuals to take to out of town treatments and appointments. Heidi and board members had heard stories of one woman hitch-hiking to Montrose and another commuting to Denver on the Bustang for infusions. “I love the grassroots approach to community issues,” shared Lana, noting that transportation can be such a barrier to access for all kinds of medical care in a rural area like Gunnison County. Shortly after that, Lana spotted an ad in the paper that Heidi was looking for an assistant and Lana leapt at the opportunity to work for the organization part-time.

When Lana started, she and Heidi worked together on every aspect of the organization: fundraising, programs, events, etc. Working directly with clients on the programs was Lana’s favorite part. They worked together to expand the range of programs offered to clients and open up access to anyone in the Gunnison Valley facing all types of cancer. Current programs include: 

• Friends of Tough: financial assistance available for individuals impacted financially due to a cancer diagnosis. Since 2015, they have given out over $300,000 in financial assistance.
• Transportation program: Gunnison Tough offers a fleet of new, safe vehicles that locals with cancer can borrow to get advanced treatment from medical centers outside Gunnison County. Whether people are heading east to Denver or west to Montrose or Grand Junction, each of these trips requires driving over remote mountain passes where having a reliable vehicle can make a major difference in reaching your appointments on time.
• Lucy’s House: Clients traveling long distances to access treatment also often needed lodging while there. Dorothy and Norman Eastwood generously partnered with Gunnison Tough to launch the “Lucy’s House” program (named for Dorothy’s mother) that pays for lodging close to treatment centers. Since 2020, Lucy’s House has supported Gunnison Valley community members with nearly 1,500 nights of lodging.
• Make it a Great Day: Through “Make it a Great Day,” Gunnison Tough helps clients access integrative therapies such as massage, acupuncture, reiki, ortho-bionomy, house cleaning, and counseling.
• Sparky’s Fund: Recognizing that a cancer diagnosis impacts every member of a family, Gunnison Tough established Sparky’s Fund to support local youth who have a parent navigating the disease. This scholarship fund is specifically designed to alleviate family stress by covering costs for extracurricular activities, summer programs, college tuition, and other opportunities that might otherwise be inaccessible during treatment. Since its launch, the fund has contributed to a wide range of needs, helping families bring the “spark” back into their lives during difficult times. Beyond practical support, like childcare and extracurricular activities, Sparky’s Fund helps families enjoy meaningful time together by helping cover the cost of family getaways, date nights, and a client’s new hobbies or interests.

Lana has been working closely with Gunnison Tough clients for years, and she shared, “I’m so excited to continue building on our community programs.” In addition to continuing to address treatment access challenges for clients facing cancer, Gunnison Tough has also teamed up with Gunnison Valley Health and Living Journeys to offer the Cancer Screening Access Fund. The Fund is dedicated to covering the costs of prostate, colon, lung, and uterine cancer screenings, offering up to $2,000 per applicant. This is in addition to the dedicated Gunnison Tough Screening Program that already provides comprehensive breast screening support at Gunnison Valley Health. In 2026, Lana anticipates there will be a greater need for both of these programs as more people go without health insurance due to the removal of the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies and encourages anyone who needs support to access screening services to contact Gunnison Tough or apply for support at gunnisonvalleyhealth.org.

Having already worked with Gunnison Tough for close to a decade, Lana brings a lot of knowledge to her new role that has allowed her to hit the ground running. As she looks ahead, she’s focused on the future longevity of the organization. In 2023, the Gunnison Tough board established the Dean Dillon Gunnison Tough Endowment at CFGV. One of eight nonprofit endowment funds at CFGV, Gunnison Tough’s endowment is managed and invested by CFGV’s Investment Committee, taking advantage of efficiencies gained by pooling resources in our small community. Agency Endowments managed by CFGV provide a stable, ongoing source of operating funding for local nonprofits.

Dean and Susie Dillon have been huge supporters of Gunnison Tough’s mission since the beginning. In the early days, Dean said, “I want our local hospital to be the best rural small-town breast cancer hospital in the US.” Dean and Susie have committed themselves to the cause, inviting their musical family (the best songwriters from Nashville) to come here, play music, and raise money for the cause.

The Dean Dillon Gunnison Tough Endowment was established to honor Dean and Susie’s decades-long commitment while setting the organization up for financial stability for the long haul. The Endowment is in a growth phase at this point, with the organization focused on increasing the principal so that future annual distributions can be larger. The end goal is to have the Endowment provide a stable, permanent source of funding for the organization. For Lana and the Gunnison Tough board, their hope is that the endowment will provide enough funding annually that programming will continue regardless of what is happening in the broader economy in any given year. You can learn more about the endowment on gunnisontough.com.

Since the beginning, Gunnison Tough has been a true showcase of the power of community coming together. If you would like to get involved, there are many ways to participate. In March they will host their annual Pink in the Rink women’s hockey tournament. Looking ahead to the summer, the Songwriter Shuffle is scheduled for July 16, and Bull Fest is on the calendar for August 15. You can find more information about all their events on their website.

Gunnison Tough is also always looking for volunteers. They have many volunteering slots open for each of their events, which is a terrific way to get to know the organization. They also need volunteers on the program side. If you are interested in joining as a volunteer driver or a car detailer, they always need more program volunteers for those spots.

Congratulations to Heidi on all that you have accomplished over the last eleven years with Gunnison Tough and thank you for the ways you’ve supported community members facing a cancer diagnosis. You’re leaving Gunnison Tough in great hands!