BALTIMORE, MD – May 5, 2011 – Gerald and Mary Donovan of Chesapeake Beach, Md., were honored recently with the American Cancer Society’s Award of Excellence for Income Development for the South Atlantic Division. The award was presented at a special banquet during the Division’s Volunteer Leadership Summit in Atlanta, Georgia.
Nominations for the Award of Excellence were submitted by staff and volunteers from across the South Atlantic Division, which includes Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
“The Awards of Excellence are the highest honor we bestow on our volunteers, community groups and businesses,” shared Paula Mohan, chief executive officer for the Society’s South Atlantic Division. “The leadership and dedication demonstrated by these award recipients is exceptional, and we are grateful to have them out in our communities representing our organization.”
Having lost their father to cancer, Gerald, the former Mayor of Chesapeake Beach, and his brother, Fred, began the Cancer Crusade Celebration of Life Gala in 1981 to celebrate life and raise money for cancer research and patient programs. The event has raised nearly $4M since its inception, and the Donovans, including Gerald’s wife, Mary, host about 2,500 people each year at the event.
The Donovans use their extensive personal and business contacts to help the event grow each year. Nearly 50 percent of the money raised for the event is generated through corporate sponsorships, and their efforts to keep the event a financial success have also resulted in an increased awareness for the Society’s initiatives in cancer prevention, early detection, research, and patient programs and services.
“Gerald and Mary, along with Fred, are incredible assets to the American Cancer Society. Their volunteer efforts and outreach in the community are considerable, and we congratulate them on their achievements, as well as thank them for their dedication,” said Gloria Jetter, the Society’s state vice president for Maryland.
The South Atlantic Division received numerous nominations representing excellence in a variety of categories. The recipients were selected by special committee formed from the Division’s volunteer board of directors.
About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.5 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org. For cancer news in your community, visit sacancernews.org.
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Photo of Gerald and Mary Donovan available for download.
Caption: Cliff Berg, chair of the American Cancer Society’s South Atlantic Division Board of Directors, and Paula Mohan, CEO of the Society’s South Atlantic Division, honor volunteers Gerald and Mary Donovan at the organization’s Volunteer Leadership Summit in Atlanta, Georgia.