2018 Honoree: Bill Eckholm

Bill’s business career was a successful one, allowing him to become president of some of the world’s largest fire suppression companies. After a brief retirement, Bill and Laurie teamed up in 2000 to found Firetrace USA based in Scottsdale. Firetrace is a fire suppression company manufacturing specialized suppression systems which flourished to become a global leader in the field, with manufacturing operations located in Scottsdale and the UK, and sales offices in the UK, Dubai, India, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, and Brazil. After Bill suffered a serious stroke in 2013, he realized it was time to slow down. Two years later, Firetrace was sold to a publicly traded British company. They graciously attribute the company’s success to its amazing employees! As Firetrace became increasingly successful, Bill and Laurie realized that with success should come a decision to give back to noble causes so they became immersed in several charities in the Valley. They hadn’t given cancer much thought although they understood it was a terrible disease, and had empathy for all that had to deal with it. It was something that happened to others, not them. But life changes quickly, and they found themselves dealing with cancer in a very personal way. Laurie’s Dad lost his battle with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma after eight weeks in the hospital, and Laurie’s mother was diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer, enduring chemo and surgery at 83 which took its toll physically and mentally in her final days. Then in 2013, Bill was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He states “the research funded by the American Cancer Society saved my life!” It was the PSA test which became elevated from 2012 to 2013, that led to a biopsy and discovery of an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Bill’s inspiring message is straightforward—“I am a cancer survivor and I shout from the rooftops! I survived the most aggressive prostate cancer. Never give up, never! If you do, cancer will win. If you keep fighting, you have a chance to win!” We are honored to have Bill and Laurie join with the American Cancer Society to attack cancer on all fronts! Please help us by supporting 2018 Picnic Under the Stars and together, we will fund more discoveries to save more lives, and continue serving patients with vital programs and services.