At a recent Executive Committee meeting hosted at Ernst & Young, Gary Dixon, Executive Committee Chairman, and the March of Dimes had the opportunity to recognize – with the Gold Sneaker Award – outstanding members of the committee for their extraordinary commitment to the March of Dimes during WalkAmerica.

The following March of Dimes North Texas Executive Committee members stepped up to the plate and showed the March of Dimes what great volunteers are all about.

Ron Anderson, M.D. – President and CEO Parkland Hospital

Dr. Ron Anderson and his staff at Parkland affect the lives of so many Dallas citizens every hour of every day. More than 17,000 babies are born at Parkland every year. Dr. Anderson himself is a top walker as are several other staffers at Parkland. The Gold Sneaker Award goes to Parkland for raising a new high of $91,818 for WalkAmerica in 2002.

Brenda Gray – Domestic Goddesses Team

Brenda Gray and her band of several friends, aptly named Domestic Goddesses, have made a tremendous impact to WalkAmerica by raising $12,965. The Domestic Goddesses team really got into the act by having a Spirit Van fully decorated in royal fashion.

Tom Risley – CEO of Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc.

Tom Risley is the ultimate March of Dimes volunteer. He inspired his employees at Vought to raise $109,000 for WalkAmerica 2002, and Vought was also a North Texas presenting sponsor. Tom is not shy about tapping his vendors for donations for WalkAmerica. As a dedicated volunteer, he always makes it a priority to attend March of Dimes events. At the end of each campaign, he immediately starts thinking about the following year.

Russell Richard – Kroger Assistant Manager—Consumer Affairs

Russell Richard works for a company that can proudly say they have been a North Texas Presenting Sponsor for the past decade. In those ten years, Kroger employees have raised over $2 million for WalkAmerica. In addition to the above mentioned contributions, Kroger provides food for all of the checkpoints along the Walk in both Dallas and Ft. Worth. In Ft. Worth, Kroger employees and executives grill hot dogs, serve drinks, chips and cookies to all the walkers.

Gary R. Donahee – President, The Americas, Nortel Networks

As a new North Texas Division Sponsor, Nortel Networks has burst onto the WalkAmerica scene in a very big way. As a new team, their employees raised an impressive $16,000. Nortel will continue to be a huge player for WalkAmerica as Gary Donahee has agreed to be WalkAmerica Chairman for Dallas in 2003.

Larry Cook – Senior Vice President Wells Fargo

Larry Cook has chaired WalkAmerica in Wichita Falls for the past 3 years. In that short time Larry has propelled the campaign in Wichita Falls to double digit increases. WalkAmerica has increased from $17,000 to an impressive $80,000. Larry has accomplished this by bringing on major corporations, foundations and Sheppard AFB.

Cynthia Driskill – President & CEO of CDG & Associates

Cynthia spearheaded a brand new initiative this year targeting CEOs of small and mid-sized companies. Cynthia proudly named her new group "CEOs Walk the Walk." In their first year, the CEOs became Dallas’ top new team raising $23, 211. Even more impressive is Cynthia’s goal for 2003. She plans to enlist 250 CEOs with a goal of $250,000.

Deepak Srivastava, M.D. – UT Southwestern

Deepak affects the lives of babies every day with cutting-edge research at UT Southwestern. In addition to research and seeing patients, Deepak is the consummate speaker – always willing to attend team captain meetings and company kickoffs to share the March of Dimes mission. Deepak is quite proud of the fact that he and his twins walked the entire route at White Rock Lake.

Peggy Troy RN, MSN – President of Cook Children’s Medical Center

Peggy has lived up to her challenge to the entire Tarrant County Board by becoming a Top Walker. By issuing that challenge, she has succeeded by increasing the number of Top Walkers on the Board. This year, Peggy cheered Cook Children’s team to raise $21,000. Peggy has been instrumental in setting up NICU tours at Cook Children’s so teams can have a glimpse of why they are raising money for WalkAmerica.

P.D. Shabay – Executive Vice President Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc.

P.D. has been described as an all-around great guy. In keeping with that reputation, P.D. has been good to WalkAmerica by encouraging his Bell Helicopter team to go from $38,000 in 2001 to $56,000 in 2002. P.D. was instrumental in securing John Murphy, Chairman and CEO of Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., to be 2003 WalkAmerica Chairman in Ft. Worth.