2025 Breakthrough T1D South Carolina Gala

“We are involved with Breakthrough T1D because we have several close family members who are living with T1D and we want to see them live a life without the daily challenges of T1D. We became involved 12  years ago when our son Jared was diagnosed days after his fourteenth birthday. We were looking for ways to help our son cope and make living with T1D easier. What we found was an organization that is passionate about finding a cure. Seeing what is happening with the current research and development for T1D is exciting and the progress is astounding. We are no longer just hopeful that there will be a cure someday but are encouraged that the someday will be soon.”

Riley Fincher-Foster is a 16-year-old diagnosed at age 4 with Type 1 Diabetes. Since her diagnosis, Breakthrough T1D has been a source of support, advocacy and hope for her and her family. Riley has volunteered with Breakthrough T1D in many ways: through advocacy, previous Gala events, One Walk teams, meetings locally with government representatives, representing South Carolina at the 2017 Children’s Congress in Washington DC, and sharing her story countless times for support and partnership. Riley is a current 10th grade student at the Fine Arts Center of Greenville, she is also a performer on stage as well as film and TV professionally since age 11, including a national tour, feature film and television roles as well as many local and regional musical theatre productions and concerts. Meeting celebrities with Type 1 through Breakthrough T1D events gave Riley the confidence that she could follow her dreams as a performer and not let Type 1 hold her back. Riley loves sharing her story and talents to aid in Breakthrough T1D’s mission to one day find a cure for Type 1 and make life easier for those living with the disease until we do.

Emmy award-winning WLOS News 13 Chief Meteorologist Jason Boyer has been bringing Western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina the latest forecast and best storm coverage for nearly 16 years.

Jason was born and raised in Highland, Illinois and earned a B.S. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. An accomplished meteorologist, Jason has earned the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist seal from the American Meteorological Society (AMS).

His passion for weather started at a young age when his hometown was hit by a devastating tornado. This passion led him to study and forecast weather in Johnson City, Chattanooga and Denver, Colorado.

Jason is well-known for his community involvement and especially for his interest in teaching kids about meteorology. He spends a great deal of his free time visiting schools and working with nonprofits like the American Red Cross and The ARC to help fundraise for their critical services.

However, Breakthrough T1D is very special to him. His 12-year-old son, Hudson was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of six. Since the diagnosis, Jason, his wife Sandi and Hudson have committed themselves to advocating and educating the community about Type 1 Diabetes.

Jason is excited to be a part of this year’s gala and to be able to help raise crucial funds for T1D research.