May 3, 2022 | When Snellings Walters Chairman of the Board, J. Clayton (“Clay”) Snellings learned his daughter Emily had cystic fibrosis at just three months old, he became involved in several CF Foundation fundraising events. Yet at that time, he kept his working life and his family’s fight against cystic fibrosis separate. That was until Clay had to cancel a business trip to visit Chubb Insurance in Atlanta so he could be with Emily, who had landed in the hospital. He later learned that, by a strange twist of fate, Chubb was a company dedicated to participating in the Foundation’s Great Strides walks each year. They asked Clay and his colleagues at Snellings Walters to join them. They did so and raised $35,000 during the walk.
For Clay, this initial step served as a springboard for forming Insure the Cure — a walk that brings together the entire insurance community of Atlanta and has raised more than $2.6 million over the past 10+ years.
“Insure the Cure is the cornerstone of our company’s community service,” says Clay. “We are so deeply committed to helping people with CF that we have integrated this cause into both our strategic plan and performance development plans. After all, someone has to be the champion. I love seeing not only our employees but those who have agreed to partner with us be the changemakers for CF.
Over the years, Clay’s firm’s efforts have paid off; he’s watched his daughter Emily benefit from therapies that exist in part because of fundraising dollars the employees of Snellings Walters have raised. Today, Emily takes the game-changing therapy Trikafta and is thriving. The 24-year-old works as an auditor for Deloitte. According to her father, Emily loves playing tennis, taking Barre Class, and traveling.
As Clay looks to the future, he is optimistic. “If history is going to repeat itself, then this is the right cause to be involved in. Look at what has been achieved over the past decade in science for people with CF. Just think about what is possible in the next 10 years.”
Clay and his wife Lori, have three children — Emily (24), Blake (27) and Walker (29). The couple lives in Atlanta, Ga.
