FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Miranda Landsman
Phone: 936-615-0753
Email: miranda@seenamagowitzfoundation.org

 
March 2022 – For his tireless work and advocacy for those battling the disease and his unending support of those working and researching to find a cure for pancreatic cancer, Furniture Today honored The Seena Magowitz Foundation’s Founder and CEO, Roger E. Magowitz with their 8th annual Lifetime Bedding Achievement Award at the Furniture Today Bedding Conference in Orlando, Florida.

His network and commitment to the cause has allowed Magowitz’s work to blossom over the past 20 years. Bedding legacy names like Gary Fazio, former executive with Serta Simmons Bedding, Mattress Firm and Sealy; Karl Glassman, executive chairman of Leggett & Platt; and Phil Sherman, a co-founder of Customatic Technologies, all consider Magowitz a close personal friend with a gigantic heart.

“He’s the ultimate connector,” said Gary Fazio, former executive with Serta Simmons Bedding, Mattress Firm and Sealy. “He’s the highway connector for pancreatic cancer beyond the bedding industry. This is life and death, and Roger is in the middle helping people find hope.”

Raising over $13 million for pancreatic cancer research, Magowitz has dedicated his life to finding a cure. The money raised primarily has funded Pilot Studies and Phase 1 Studies which have led to over $150 million in additional funding for expanded phases of respective clinical trials. One of these trials has just been added to the NCCN (National Comprehensive Cancer Network) guidelines. This network is an alliance of cancer centers around the country that help promote the latest and greatest in cancer care.

“He’s developed a network of the world’s most renowned scientists and surgeons,” said Karl Glassman, executive chairman of Leggett & Platt. “Researchers that are not only dealing with trying to understand via clinical trials how to help current patients but knowing that long term early detection is the answer. And I know nobody better to bet on than Roger Magowitz.”

Roger is considered a “Founding Father” in the Mattress Industry. He currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Customatic Beds. He served as the Executive Director and Charitable Advisor of Mattress Firm for five years. Before that, he built his own business from the ground up, serving as President of Mattress Discounters in Virginia Beach for nearly thirty years. At one point, he operated 34 stores under the Mattress Discounters and Metropolitan Mattress names.

“My role is somehow to deliver hope to people who are at the darkest moments in life,” said Magowitz. “It’s my privilege. One person can make a difference, and I am proof of that. One company can make a difference because it’s not the size of the company, it’s the heart.”

A military veteran, Roger served in the U.S. Marines as a Lance Corporal in Okinawa, Japan. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Roger is a family man. His world revolves around his wife, Jeanne, children, and grandchildren. Roger founded the Seena Magowitz Foundation after his mother, Seena, passed away from pancreatic cancer 20 years ago. Since then, he’s built a close-knit community of advocates, medical advisors, and survivors. He believes wholeheartedly that, “One person can make a difference and one person can change the world.” One of his most-quoted phrases is, “If not me, then who?”

Roger’s Award Acceptance Speech
 

 
About The Seena Magowitz Foundation
 
Known as “The Face and Voice of Pancreatic Cancer,” The Seena Magowitz Foundation works to provide the loudest voice of awareness of pancreatic cancer. It was founded by Roger. E. Magowitz in honor of his mother, Seena Magowitz, who lost her battle with pancreatic cancer in 2001. The Foundation is entering it 20th year of funding medical research in search of innovative life-extending treatments of pancreatic cancer patients. Besides leading-edge treatments, it focuses on the discovery of easier methods of early detection with an ultimate mission of finding a cure.