Mike Gracik Honored for Decades of Leadership and Service to Massey

Most people who talk about Mike Gracik eventually hit on the same idea: it feels like he’s been part of the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center volunteer corps longer than anyone else. What they’re describing isn’t just the span of years he’s been involved, it’s the depth of his commitment.

It’s almost 30 years of commitment, of incredible service, and of someone giving back of themselves and bringing others to give back.

Becky Massey, past chair of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center Advisory Board

When colleagues describe him, they reflexively reach for words like dedication, constancy and impact, because his decades of volunteer leadership at Massey have shaped the place in ways that are impossible to overstate.

“It’s hard to actually estimate how much impact he’s had,” said Gordon Ginder, M.D., former director of Massey. “He’s had tremendous impact over a very long period of time.” 

That long arc of service – nearly three decades – is why Gracik is being honored with the 2026 MCV Foundation Michael B. Dowdy Award, recognizing a volunteer leader whose strategic guidance, compassionate support and philanthropic vision have strengthened Massey’s mission year after year.

Mike Gracik
Mike Gracik is honored with the 2026 MCV Foundation Michael B. Dowdy Award in recognition of nearly three decades of dedicated volunteer leadership at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. Photo by Daniel Sangjib Min

Gracik’s tenure with Massey stretches back to the late 1990s.

 “It’s almost 30 years of commitment, of incredible service, and of someone giving back of themselves and bringing others to give back,” said Becky Massey, past chair of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center Advisory Board.

He served as chair of the Massey Cancer Center Advisory Board longer than anyone in its history – a distinction Dr. Ginder notes as one of the clearest markers of his influence. 

“He’s an enthusiastic and effective volunteer, highly respected by people within the center and in the community,” Dr. Ginder said.

Gracik’s service began with an introduction from Jeanette Lipman, a beloved Massey benefactor and volunteer who passed away in 2017. Her family’s experience with cancer cemented her resolve to support Massey’s mission, and she poured her energy and giving into helping the center grow. 

When she looked for other ways to extend her impact, she recognized in Gracik the potential of someone who shared that sense of purpose. As Gracik tells it, Mrs. Lipman didn’t simply invite him to get involved – she essentially pulled the chair out for him. Here’s your board seat. This is where you’re needed.

From then on, he has poured himself into the work she believed he could help advance.

Gracik felt that if Mrs. Lipman believed he could help advance a mission so important to her, he owed her his full commitment. What began as an invitation grew into a partnership built on shared purpose and became something deeper than a typical volunteer relationship. 

 “Mike was an incredible friend, I would say almost like an adopted son of Jeanette Lipman,” Becky Massey said.

Gracik carried her legacy forward with the same devotion she showed the cancer center – but he did it in his own way. And true to form, he never made that service about himself. 

Mike Gracik (far right) – pictured with fellow Massey Advisory Board members
Mike Gracik (far right) – pictured with fellow Massey Advisory Board members George Emerson (far left) John Congdon (second from right), and Gordon Ginder, M.D. (second from left), the former cancer center director – has worked and led alongside a dedicated network of colleagues and community members to advance Massey’s mission. Contributed photo.

“In so many ways, Mike is absolutely bigger than life, but in so many ways, he’s the quiet, silent leader,” said MCV Foundation board member Jen Flinchum, who has worked with Gracik at Keiter for 27 years. “He’s the person people call when something needs to happen fast.”

Flinchum recalls a moment when a colleague faced a frightening cancer diagnosis, and Gracik stepped in without hesitation. 

“Within 48 hours, Mike had her into Massey and being seen. Five months later she was in remission. He was so caring and so compassionate and so helpful in getting her in and getting her treatment and she’s but one example of many that he has helped.”

The Michael B. Dowdy Award honors a volunteer whose service has truly shaped the lives of patients and families. For nearly 30 years, Mike Gracik has been that person for Massey — steady, generous, visionary and always there. The award simply acknowledges what everyone already knows. 

“Mike brings it. When he is committed, when he comes to a meeting, when he engages – he always brings it,” Becky Massey said.