When looking to make a move from Vinings/Buckhead, it didn’t take Hop On A Cure Treasurer Gregg Vickery and his wife, Janet, long to realize Alpharetta was home.
“We were looking ahead towards retirement and wanted to find the right area for us to enjoy our retirement,” says Vickery. “We looked at a few different communities, but when our real estate broker brought us to downtown Alpharetta, it took us about five minutes to decide we wanted to be part of that community. In addition, it was a little closer to our kids and our house on Lake Lanier. So, the location and atmosphere could not have been any better for us.”
Vickery’s career has always been in finance, working for 19 years at Home Depot before leaving in 2003 to spend time with his growing family. In 2005, he was offered a position to once again work with Home Depot co-founder and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur M. Blank, this time as Vice President and Controller for Blank’s family of businesses, which included a non-profit foundation.
“Arthur Blank’s mission was clear to everyone in his organization - to build his wealth so he could pass it along and give back to others in the community through his foundation.”
With that in mind, Vickery - who was still in finance in 2023 when he retired from his position as CFO of the Blank Family of businesses - was introduced to Hop On A Cure co-founders and fellow area natives John and Jennifer Hopkins, who launched the organization in 2022 after John, a founding member of GRAMMY Award-winning group Zac Brown Band, was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder ALS.
“Knowing that my work contributed to that mission and the greater good for society had been missing since I retired. My wife and I had talked about finding the right cause to give back to, and when we met John and Jen, we knew we had found it. After meeting them and getting to know them, and understanding more about ALS, it was impossible to not want to help them and others who have this terrible disease.”
Also based in the greater Atlanta area, Hop On A Cure has granted over $4 million in its short existence. Recognizing a critical need for support of all kinds in the ALS community, the foundation’s mission is to support research to prevent, reverse, and cure ALS while raising awareness, build a compassionate community, and unleash the healing power of hope. To date, Hop On A Cure has given grants to research programs at Emory, Houston Methodist Medical Center, Duke University Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital, as well as several independent programs, like ALS Cure Project, to name a few.
After the success of last year’s inaugural Harmony for Hope Gala at Trillith Studios, which raised nearly $1.2 million, Hop On A Cure will be hosting another gala this year, again at Trillith Studios - on October 18, 2025. Both Gregg and Janet are on the host committee.
“It’s been over 80 years since Lou Gehrig died from this disease and there is still no cure,” says Vickery. “While progress has been made, there is a clear need for more research and clinical trials. Funding, education and awareness are crucial to accomplishing this and my wife and I are very happy to help in any way we can.”
when our real estate broker brought us to downtown Alpharetta, it took us about five minutes to decide
it was impossible to not want to help them and others who have this terrible disease.”