2003 AAPD Leadership Gala on March 4th Deemed a Great Success by All

From the empowering remarks provided by the Henry B. Betts and Paul G. Hearne Award recipients or the very strong introductions of those awardees, to the diversity of the attendees and just the general energy in the air throughout the evening, the 2003 AAPD Leadership Gala was an evening of awards, messages, and critical advocacy building.

Held on March 4th in Washington, DC, the second-annual AAPD Leadership Gala was kicked off with a reception, at which The Honorable Bob Dole was the featured speaker. He shared insights into the life and advocacy of his close friend, Paul Hearne, in whose name the awards program was established, and discussed the disability movement in general.

Then, orchestrating the evening's awards ceremony were the Masters of Ceremonies, The Honorable Tony Coelho and John Kemp. After general introductions and welcoming comments were made, they introduced as a representative of the Administration, Dr. Margaret J. Giannini, F.A.A.P., Director of the Office on Disability, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. She read a letter from President George W. Bush, which reiterated the President's commitment to this country's disability community through his New Freedom Initiative and congratulated the evening's award recipients.

This flowed into the first award presentation, the Henry B. Betts Award. Introducing this segment of the program were Dr. Henry Betts himself and Dr. Wayne Lerner, both from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, and William McDermott, President and CEO of SAP America, Inc. SAP was Lead Sponsor of the AAPD Leadership Gala.

Mr. McDermott had the unique opportunity of introducing invited guest, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, who shared personal remarks about his friends, Dick and Ginny Thornburgh, this year's Henry B. Betts Award recipients. Mr. Ridge spoke passionately about disability issues and the roles that the Thornburghs have played in significant advances that have been made.

With assistance from Mr. Ridge, the Henry B. Betts Award was presented collaboratively by AAPD and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago to the Thornburghs, who are both longtime advocates for the rights of people with disabilities. Their advocacy was inspired by their son, Peter, who had suffered a serious brain injury as a result of a 1960 car accident. Undoubtedly a highlight of the evening, Peter Thornburgh came to the podium with his parents, and it is he who introduced them. It was a moving and highly-memorable moment that resulted in a standing ovation.

Hearing the Thornburghs speak was a great inspiration for everyone in attendance. They also announced that they are donating their $50,000 award to the University of Pittsburgh, to help in funding a series of lectures in disability law and policy. That university's School of Law and School of Health and Rehabilitation recently established the nation's first Masters of Law in Disability Program.

Paul G. Hearne Award presenters at the Gala included Rep. Donna Christian-Christensen (D-USVI), Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-PA), and Rep. James Langevin (D-RI), who spoke personally about their advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities and also had the pleasure of sharing highlights of the lives of this year's five award recipients.

Albert Cheong, who lost his sight at 13, is recognized nationally as being a strong advocate for minorities with disabilities and for bringing the voice of Chinese people with disabilities to legislators. Claudia Gordon first Black deaf female attorney in the U.S., and has been a skilled and passionate advocate for people with disabilities since high school. Carrie D. Griffin the creator of "Women Without Barriers," a mentoring program for high school-aged girls with disabilities, and has also created an online organization of lawyers and law students with disabilities, the Disabled Lawyering Alliance the Disabled Lawyering Alliance, to provide mentoring, networking and job opportunities. Peter Cody Hunt's interest in working on disability-related issues started when he acquired his disability in college, due to a spinal cord injury, and he now focuses primarily on disability research and policy at the academic institution and federal government level. Sarah Louise Triano has been dedicating herself to promoting a culture that teaches new values and beliefs and acknowledges the dignity and worth of all people, and to mentoring children with disabilities in order to ensure they do not grow up feeling ashamed of their disabilities, and is now Director of the nation's first locally-based leadership and organizing training program.

For complete bios of this year's Henry B. Betts and Paul G. Hearne Award recipients, please refer to the February 2003 issue of AAPD News, or visit the AAPD website.

Capping the evening was entertainment provided by six-time Grammy Award winner, Jose Feliciano, who sang some of his most famous selections. His performance of Light My Fire resulted in enthusiast applause from all attendees.

The more than 500 AAPD Leadership Gala attendees included numerous Members of Congress, high-ranking business people, representatives from many disability-related organizations, members of the media, advocates and other friends. It was a powerful event and we strongly believe that it will help to lead to increased advocacy among all of these individuals, toward AAPD's mission of empowering, both politically and economically, all people living with disabilities in the U.S.

AAPD is extremely grateful to the AAPD Leadership Gala Steering Committee, and its three co-chairs, Cheryl Sensenbrenner, Ruth Harkin and Tony Coelho; to the many corporate sponsors (listed below) who made the 2003 AAPD Leadership Gala possible; and to guests like Mr. Ridge, Senator Dole, Dr. Giannini, and the Members of Congress who participated in the award presentations.

We will all remember for quite some time, the incredible remarks made, passion exhibited, relevant insights provided and advocacy incited at the 2003 AAPD Leadership Gala.

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