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The 2007 NOFAS Leadership Awards Benefit reception co-hosted by Senator Lisa Murkowski, former Senator Tom Daschle and Linda Hall Daschle held on June 13 in Washington, D.C. was an enormous success. NOFAS board members Tony Podesta and Ginny Boylan and FASD family advocates from more than 15 states helped honor Michael Deaver, Dr. Kathy Sulik and Tracy Combs for their contributions to the FASD prevention and support. The event was underwritten by Rob Lively and Schering-Plough Corporation and sponsored by Linda and Tom Daschle, Tom Rabaut and the Rabaut Family Foundation, BAE Systems and Wal*Mart. Generous donors also included Dr. Neal Baer, Kate Boyce, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Freddie Mac, Terry Lierman, Lynne and Greg O’Brien, Oshkosh Truck Corporation, the Russert Family Foundation and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. Olgoonik, Kate Moss, Larry Rosenthal, Ginny Boylan, Drinker Biddle, Mary Pavel, Jennifer Hughes, Dr. Michael Wolf, Michele Zieger and the Beer Institute also made significant contributions to NOFAS and the event.
Michael K. Deaver was recognized for his numerous charitable endeavors. A recovering alcoholic, he is the vice chairman international for Edelman and spent more than 20 years as one of President Ronald Reagan’s closest advisors and continues to play an active role in advising Republicans at all levels. Upon receiving the NOFAS Leadership Award he remarked, “I have been in rooms with Kings, Presidents, and other famous leaders, but nothing is more powerful than standing in a room full of recovering alcoholics and FASD effected individuals.”
Dr. Kathleen K. Sulik was honored for her research of birth defects and abnormalities caused by maternal alcohol use. Dr. Sulik’s work has focused on understanding the cellular mechanisms underlying birth defects. She is currently a Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and a member of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Tracy Combs, a 23-year-old from San Diego, was also given an award. Tracy was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome at age 2, and has been an inspiration to individuals and families touched by FASD ever since. An MRI image of Tracy’s brain depicting the hallmark effects of prenatal alcohol exposure is used in FAS medical literature, textbooks and presentations worldwide.
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