Four Honored For Helping Children In First Ever Children's Miracle Awards

Children's Miracle Network
Wednesday, 28 March 2001

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Roy Disney, Mary Hart, And Jeff Foxworthy Are Recognized For Making Generous Contributions To The Lives Of Children In Televised Awards Event Presented By Delta Air Lines

ORLANDO, FLA (March 28, 2001)-The oft quoted thought is true: "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child." This is the maxim by which four award recipients live their lives. The four will receive awards during a televised gala hosted by CNN's Larry King.

The Children's Miracle Network Miracle Awards presented by Delta Air Lines will take place Saturday, April 7 at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. The event will be produced for television and air the first weekend in June on a network of 200 stations throughout the United States and Canada. Delta Miracle Award recipients have each demonstrated a long-standing commitment to children and have contributed in many ways to bettering the lives of children everywhere. Award presenters include Olympic champions Marion Jones and Mary Lou Retton, sports broadcasters Dan Patrick and Robin Roberts, Miss America 2001, Angela Perez Baraquio, former NFL great Steve Young, and Children's Miracle Network co-founders Marie Osmond and John Schneider.

The Children's Miracle Achievement Award will be presented to Olympic champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee for her work with children in East St. Louis, Ill. and surrounding areas; to "Entertainment Tonight" anchor Mary Hart for her longtime commitment to organizations like Childhelp USA, the National Childhood Cancer Foundation, and children's hospitals through Children's Miracle Network; and to comedian/actor Jeff Foxworthy for his work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Camp Sunshine, and the children at Duke Children's Hospital in North Carolina.

The Lifetime of Miracles Award will be presented to Roy Disney, vice chairman of the Walt Disney Company's board of directors and head of the studio's Animation Department. Disney's leadership within the company, and without as a board member of Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles, Ronald McDonald House charities, and the United States Committee for UNICEF have been extremely beneficial to hundreds of thousands of children.

"We felt it was high time for some exceptional individuals to receive some recognition for what they do for children," said Children's Miracle Network President and CEO Mick Shannon. "These people have done so much for so many and have never sought, nor received any recognition for their work. We thought it was appropriate for us to do so now."

"Delta's involvement in this event was a natural step for us," said Delta chairman and CEO Leo Mullin, who will also present an award to Tamara Vorwald, a Delta employee credited with developing a school mentoring program for at-risk children. "Our company's corporate philosophy goes hand-in-hand with the commitments these individuals have made to advance the causes of children and youth."

The evening's entertainment will include National Symphony Orchestra violinist Jenny Oaks Baker with Juilliard pianist Jenny Naylor Richards; 11-year-old country & gospel singer Brock Timmerman; and a special musical number performed by a 17-year-old songwriter who is a cancer patient at Nashville's Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and former Lonestar singer John Rich, who first heard the song while visiting kids at Vanderbilt last December.

For more information, or to contact Children's Miracle Network, see their website at: www.cmn.org