About Us

The event is organized by longtime New Orleans residents and community activists Carol and Harold Asher along with local friends Doug Thornton, Mickey Allweiss and Bill Schwartz and their Connecticut cousins Abby and Josh Lipschutz. Josh, a 1992 Tulane graduate and former New Orleans resident was married less than a month when he was diagnosed with malignant brain cancer. He battles this today with tremendous optimism and courage. In his honor, the Ashers organized Tour de Lis.

“Battling cancer is such a daunting challenge,” says Carol Asher, who made New Orleans her home after graduating from Tulane and has since served in executive roles at the Tipitina’s Foundation, Legacy Donor Foundation and the New Orleans Sports Foundation. “Our cousin Josh has been such an inspiration to us and the community. His courage is the impetus for Tour de Lis, which we expect to become a landmark New Orleans event to honor and support cancer survivors, their advocates, and loved ones.”

The inaugural Tour de Lis in April 2007 raised close to $40,000 and featured five riders (Chris Brewer of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Thornton, Allweiss , Schwartz and Asher) cycling 150 miles around Lake Pontchartrain through wind, rain, sleet and hail. Since then, Tour de Lis has raised over $300,000.

“I normally ride for fun, but I do this for a purpose. We are very fortunate to have an incredible committee of more than 25 community leaders helping to plan and raise funds for the 2009 event,” reports Doug Thornton, who was responsible for rebuilding the Superdome and numerous other community projects. “We have designed this event for local and national serious riders, casual cyclists and those who want to show support for cancer victims, their friends and families alike. We hope they will put the Tour de Lis on their 2009 calendar”

The Tour de Lis is an incorporated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

For further information about the Tour de Lis, please contact us.