VDF's Tenth Anniversary Gala Recap

On Sunday, September 14, VDF celebrated its Tenth Anniversary with a fundraising Gala held in Washington, D.C. The event began with a reception of cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. National Public Radio's (NPR) Scott Simon started the festivities by introducing Dr. Mark Creager, President of the VDF Board of Directors, who honored and presented VDF Leadership Awards to past presidents: Doctors Alan T. Hirsch; Peter Gloviczki; and Alain T. Drooz.

VDF founder and former Chairman of the Board, Dennis Newman, was awarded the VDF Vision Award for founding VDF ten years ago after a family member developed PAD. During his tenure, VDF has touched over 14 million lives.

The pre-dinner finale came when the 2008 Julius H. Jacobson, II, MD Award for Physician Excellence was presented to William R. Hiatt, MD. Dr. Hiatt's esteem in the field of vascular medicine is highlighted by numerous leadership and prestigious positions and an impressive record of clinical research. His research has focused on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of PAD.

He is a national and international leader as a clinical trialist, investigating novel therapies for claudication and critical leg ischemia, and he has written over 140 peer-reviewed publications.

After a delicious dinner, Mr. Simon presented two additional awards to community leaders: Anthony Hooper, President, U.S. Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb, received the President's Award for Partnership; and Melanie Bloom, received the President's Award for Inspiration, for their community outreach to those affected by vascular disease.

The evening closed with a delightful magic show from former VDF President, Peter Gloviczki, not only a renowned vascular surgeon, but also an award-winning magician.

VDF would like to thank all those attendees and sponsors for their support of this exciting event! Special thanks go to NPR's Scott Simon for donating his time as M/C and to Dr. Gloviczki for a wonderful magic show!

Our sincere thanks to the Diamond Gala Sponsors: Bristol-Myers Squibb and Eisai; Emerald Sponsors: BSN Jobst and Sanofi-aventis; Ruby Sponsors: Vein Clinics of America and our table sponsors: American Venous Forum, AnGes, Inc., Society for Vascular Surgery, Sigma-Tau, Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery, and The Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories. We are also grateful to other organizations and individuals who donated to the event to help us raise funds for future programs.