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People Making A Difference
President George H. W. Bush to be Honorary Chair of 2009 Anniversary Benefit
Former US President George Herbert Walker Bush will serve as Honorary National Chairman of Glaucoma Research Foundation’s 31st Anniversary Benefit. The Benefit will take place Wednesday, January 28, 2009 in the Grand Ballroom of The Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
In his announcement, GRF President and CEO Thomas M. Brunner said, “As we strive to make speeding the cure and spreading the word about glaucoma a national imperative, we are deeply honored for the leadership President Bush brings to this urgent cause, and are most grateful for his participation by video.”
William Tasman, MD, National Chair for the annual benefit, distinguished Professor Emeritus and former head of The Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia, will be there to present GRF’s highest honor, The Catalyst Award, to H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, Executive Vice President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Ed and Mona Zander, returning this year as Event Co-Chairs, will personally host the reception they created last year for Ambassador Circle table hosts and their guests. Prominent Silicon Valley philanthropists Nobuko and Gary Cleary PharmD will host the Scientific Overview.
Rohit Varma, MD, who led the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study at USC’s Doheny Eye Institute and generously participated with his team in GRF’s recent Latino Glaucoma Awareness Initiative in Santa Ana, will receive The President’s Award. John Hetherington, MD, co-founder of GRF along with Hoskins and Robert Shaffer, MD, will receive The Vision Award in November preceding the Benefit, in special ceremonies hosted by Baccarat.
GRF Benefit Auction
With an on-line component that goes live for early bidding on November 18th, this year’s Benefit Auction promises a unique collection of items perfect for holiday gift giving.
Early offerings include sports memorabilia from the New York Yankees, elegant and whimsical handbags by San Francisco bay area designer Mary Frances, and one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces by Texas designers Ann Cichon (Dallas) and Teresa Chen (Ft. Worth). And since all auction proceeds benefit GRF, every winning bid gives the extra gift of support for glaucoma research and education. GRF board member June Behrendt and Delta Gamma Foundation board member Linda Linck are auction co-chairs.
Ron’s Extra Mile
Setting his own indomitable personal example of “going the extra mile” to raise awareness about the need for innovative research, 61-year old Ron Smith spent the summer riding his bicycle across the United States, starting his ride by backing the rear tire of his bike in the Pacific Ocean in Seattle, and ending his ride dipping his front tire in the Atlantic at Eastport, ME 120 miles from his home in Hope, Maine.
His ride, tracked on his own on-line journal at www.glaucoma.org, followed the rugged Northern Tier route, and began with a visit to the laboratory of Catalyst For a Cure principal investigator Philip Horner, PhD — himself an avid cyclist.
In Appreciation
Our deepest appreciation for the generosity of our donors at the $1,000 level and above, including members of THE CATALYST CIRCLE, THE BLANCHE MATTHIAS SOCIETY, and institutional donors. (Contributions of record from March 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008.)
VISIONARIES ($200,000 and above)
Allergan, Inc.
BENEFACTORS ($100,000 and above)
Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., Charlot and Dennis E. Singleton
FOUNDERS ($50,000 to $99,999)
Cynthia L. Brown, The Ross Family Trust
PACESETTERS ($25,000 to $49,999)
Germaine and Timothy Dwyer Wendy Dwyer Memorial, Mona & Edward Zander Family Foundation, Motorola Foundation, Neighbor To Nation, Vera Rombough Trust
PATRONS ($10,000 to $24,999)
Frederick and Cynthia Brinkmann, Delta Gamma Foundation, Estate of Frederick H. McDonell, Estate of Marie B. McDonell, H. Byrrh Rombough Trust, Ann and Dunbar Hoskins, Jr., MD, Kate Obstgarten Private Foundation, Jane T. Richards, Ann and Emmett Skinner, Jr.
SPONSORS ($5,000 to $9,999)
Robert L. Border, Betsy S. Erdman, Estate of Blanche E. Lowe, Estate of Louis B. Marchi, W.B. Seaton, Union Bank of California Foundation, United Airlines
PRESIDENT’S CLUB ($1,000 to $4,999)
J. Bronwyn Bateman, MD and Douglas Hershey, MD, June Behrendt-Otto, Boris Darling Productions, Jeanette Brooks, Daimler Financial Services, Duke University, The Ed and Karen Belt Charitable Fund, Ellex, Elsewhere Advertising & Communications, Iraida Espinosa, Estate of Alice E. Naps, Estate of Maxine Agostoni, Grace A. Ferry, Dorothy C. and Leonard A. Hatley, Dorothy A. Hyde, Andrew G. Iwach, MD, Jane R. Lurie Philanthropic Fund, Roberta R. W. Kameda, Raymond and Clarice Kandel, Robert Karp, Frances and Jerry G. Leigh, Lumenis, Inc., The Marian and Julius Tills Endowment Fund, Maryland Charity Campaign, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Orr Family Foundation Inc, Estell Palmer, Ron Payne, Michael L. Penn, Sr., Alan L. Potter, Parvin Rahimpour, Genette Robeson, Roy G. Michell Charitable Foundation and Trust, Nancy Stegens, Robert N. Thayer, Martin B. Wax, MD, The Y.H. Mirzoeff & Sons Foundation, Inc.
This article appeared in the September 2008 issue of Gleams. Subscribe