Gregg Wallick, CEO Best Roofing Inc., Stephen G. Mehallis, President and CEO of the Harry T. Mangurian Foundation; Ted Morse, President and CEO Ed Morse Automotive Group; Patrick Taylor, MD. MBA, CEO Holy Cross Hospital;.; and Lorenzo Williams, Esq., Senior Partner Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary, P.L. have been named 2014 South Florida Fathers of the Year.
In 2000, the National Father’s Day Council turned their attention to diabetes and its broad scoping implications on every level of the American Family. Working with the American Diabetes Association, 100% of the proceeds from tonight’s Father of the Year Awards dinner benefit the mission of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes has serious implications not only for those who have the disease, but for the future of our children. 1 in 3 children born today will develop diabetes during their lifetime unless continued and enhanced measures are to reverse this epidemic. As an organization we are working hard to fund research for a cure and provide community educational programs and resources aimed towards better management and prevention against this disease. The process of identifying honorees is a collaborative one which is done by a group of individuals known as the Father’s Day Council. Each nominee was carefully evaluated based foremost; on being a good father and role model to his children; a leader within the community; and a commitment towards the betterment of their communities through philanthropy. The 2014 honorees received the Father of the Year award on Friday June 13th at the Ritz Carlton Fort Lauderdale.
“We’re pleased to welcome this South Florida group of exceptional fathers, who have so admirably balanced the role of being a father with successful careers and local philanthropy. Father of the Year is a very significant award and it is unlike any other award a man will receive during his lifetime”, said Dr. Karan Munuswamy, 2014 South Florida Father’s Day Council Chair.
“The American Diabetes Association continues to search for a cure for diabetes, the body’s inability to produce or respond to insulin causing high blood sugar levels that often lead to blindness, kidney failure, amputation, heart attack and stroke,” according to Dawn Seay, American Diabetes Association Executive Director. “Without the $235,000 we raised this year from the gala, the American Diabetes Association’s local outreach programs – which serve more than 300,000 people living with diabetes in the Palm Beach, Broward & the Treasure Coast Area, including nearly 25 percent who are unaware they have it – would be impossible.”
“All of our fathers at some level have seen the devastation that people with diabetes and their families, friends or colleagues face each day,” added Dr. Karan Munuswamy, 2014 Father’s Day council Chairman. “So they understand the importance of the American Diabetes Association’s resources and information.”
The tradition of Father of the Year began in 1937 in New York City, and this year’s honorees join the ranks of luminaries such as Douglass McArthur, Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell, Malcolm Forbes, Larry King, Shaquille O’Neil, and Bill Clinton.
Founded in 1940, The American Diabetes Association’s mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information, call your local American Diabetes Association at (954) 772-8040
(954) 772-8040, x3053 or visit http://diabetes.org/FortlauderdaleFOTY. More than 70 years old, the National Father’s Day Council has raised more than $25 million in 10 years for a cure for diabetes.