Carman and Melton had been involved with Light The Night peripherally as Howard Hughes employees when longtime Howard Hughes executive Alex Sutton, Co-President of The Woodlands, brought this beloved charity into the company fold several years ago. However, Melton lost his mother to cancer two-and-a-half years ago and wanted to give more than a financial donation to LLS—he also wanted to give of his personal time and leverage his vast business connections in the urban planning field in hopes to raise even more funds to help find a cure for blood cancers.
“My first Light The Night Walk was very moving—it’s a very emotional experience,” explains Melton. “My family and I walk in honor of my beloved mother.”
“Heath and I partner together at Howard Hughes so it’s a privilege to partner with him in this charitable capacity,” says Carman. “As I became more involved, I learned of several colleagues battling cancer—so this charity work really hits home and not in a good way. We must find a cure.”
Carman and Melton also serve on the Light the Night Executive Leadership Committee motivating local business partners and employees from the Howard Hughes office in The Woodlands and Bridgeland to support blood cancer research with a financial donation and/or donation of their time. No strangers to creativity, Melton and Carman have also been hosting employee work-day based fun fundraisers throughout the year such as the Executive Dunking Booth event where employees paid for a chance to dunk department heads, the Dress Casual Event where employees were allowed to pay to dress in jeans and sneakers at work, and a bake and art sale in the office leading up to this weekend’s event. Employee donations are matched 100% by Howard Hughes.