The Arthritis Foundation capped off the year with its Annual Meeting held at Times Ten Cellars in Lakewood on Dec. 13. During the event, Ryan Gummer, Chair North Texas Board, presided over the election and installation of the 2013 Officers. He also recognized supporters and volunteers for their ongoing service to the local Arthritis Foundation. The work of the Arthritis Foundation North Texas supports the organization’s fight against arthritis, the nation’s most common cause of disability. Fifty million Americans (one in five) are living with arthritis. This includes 1.8 million North Texans and 11,000 North Texas children that are in pain due to arthritis that are served by the Arthritis Foundation. Visit www.arthritis.org.
The 2013 Arthritis Foundation North Texas Offers installed included:
Chair – Ryan Gummer
Secretary – Mary Hussian-Clark
Past Chair – Tom Glasson
The Arthritis Foundation North Texas 2012 Award Recipients included:
Outstanding Community Partner – Alpha Omicron Pi, Delta Theta Chapter; Courtney Boyle accepted
Outstanding Mission Partner – Sherry Jones, Tai Chi Instructor
Outstanding Corporate Partner – The Carrell Clinic; Dr. Kurt Kitziger accepted
Volunteer of the Year – Mary Hussian-Clark
Lifetime Board Member – Tom Glasson
Howard C. Coggeshall Service Award – Nancy M. O’Neil
Outstanding Community Partner – Alpha Omicron Pi, Delta Theta Chapter at Texas Women’s University
Alpha Omicron Pi’s philanthropy efforts support arthritis research and the American Juvenile Arthritis Organization. The Delta Theta Chapter at Texas Women’s University has played an active role in the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis, Bone Bash and Juvenile Arthritis Family Weekend. In addition, local sorority members organized their own Strike Out Arthritis event to raise money for the cause. Delta Theta looks forward to continuing their partnership with the Foundation in 2013.
Outstanding Mission Partner – Sherry Jones, Tai Chi Instructor
Sherry Jones is a Senior Trainer for the Tai Chi for Health Institute and a long-time supporter and dedicated volunteer of the Arthritis Foundation North Texas.
Most people lovingly refer to Jones as the “Tai Chi Lady” because of all of the demonstrations that she has performed on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation. Jones has also been instrumental in educating others about arthritis and promoting the Arthritis Foundation’s programs throughout North Texas and Tarrant County.
Outstanding Corporate Partner – The W. B. Memorial Carrell Clinic
The Arthritis Foundation is very fortunate to have members of the Dallas medical community and wonderful doctors who support the organization – especially those at the W. B. Memorial Carrell Clinic. The Carrell Clinic is a center of excellence in orthopedics and sports medicine with nearly 20 leading physicians in North Texas and the U.S. The Carrell Clinic has been a generous presenting sponsor of the Annual Bone Bash Event, led by gala co-chairs from the Carrell Clinic including: Drs. Buz Burkhead and Paul Peters, along with Kurt Rathjen. With their leadership Bone Bash has raised over $1.4 million for the Arthritis Foundation since 2006.
Volunteer of the Year – Mary Hussian-Clark
Mary Hussian-Clark, Private Banking Administrative Director at Comerica Bank, has been involved with the Arthritis Foundation for nearly 10 years, including serving on the board. Over the years, Hussian-Clark has played a significant leadership role in the Texas Chapter and the South Central Region. According to Hussian-Clark, daily commitment to charitable organizations, like the Arthritis Foundation, is vital to both the nonprofit and the community it serves.
Lifetime Board Member – Tom Glasson
Tom Glasson is Vice President and State Relations Officer of AIG State Relations and Global Regulatory Affairs. Glasson first became active in the Arthritis Foundation in 2005, and later joined the board in 2006. He became Vice Chair of the North Texas Board in 2009-2010 and served as Bone Bash Auction Committee Co-Chair from 2008-2012. Glasson has also served on the board and on the HR Committee for the South Central Region since 2011. His commitment and dedication to the Arthritis Foundation make him an integral part of this organization.
Howard C. Coggeshall Service Award – Nancy M. O’Neil
Nancy MacGregor O’Neil is a multi-generational Dallasite whose long term battle with Rheumatoid Arthritis led to her devoted service to the Foundation since 1981. O’Neil has been a long-time board member from 1981 to the present. Over the years, O’Neil has opened many doors for the Arthritis Foundation, helping it be successful in funding research and educating people about how to manage and control arthritis.
O’Neil was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in 1978 and with her team of doctors led by Dr. David Karp of UT Southwestern Medical School has survived more than 60 joint replacements or repairs and numerous leading edge experiments with various drug therapies.
Despite the debilitating effects of her disease, O’Neil has continued to serve her community on numerous boards and charitable activities, focusing on the unmet needs of children of underserved communities, especially the abused and mentally ill, receiving awards for her advocacy.
O’Neil’s interests in children’s health has its roots going back more than a century, when her Great Grandfather Col. C.C. Slaughter, made a key donation that led to the formation of Baylor Hospital which has become an internationally recognized health care institution. Other members of her extended family have participated in important ways to the continued development of the Baylor Health Care System.
About the Arthritis Foundation
Striking one in every five adults and 300,000 children, arthritis is the nation’s leading cause of disability. The Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org) is committed to raising awareness and reducing the unacceptable impact of this serious and painful disease, which can severely damage joints and rob people of living life to its fullest. The Foundation funds life-changing research that has restored mobility in patients for more than six decades; fights for health care policies that improve the lives of the millions who live with arthritis; and partners with families to provide empowering programs and information.