FORT WORTH, Texas, April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac, the
leading provider of voluntary insurance in the United States, today presented its 2015
Duckprints Awards to local heroes from Cook Children's Medical
Center in Fort Worth, Texas,
including Amp1 Basketball founder and childhood cancer survivor
Scott Odom; local disc jockey,
author and philanthropist Mark "Hawkeye" Louis; and Teresa Clark, RN, chief nursing officer, with a
specialty certification in hematology/oncology at Cook Children's
Medical Center. The day was hosted by Grant
Harris, vice president of Cook Children's Health
Foundation.
The event, held at the Cook Children's Cancer Center in
Fort Worth, was part of Aflac's
Duckprints Award Program. Duckprints is Aflac's way of honoring
people who have left their footprints in the fight against
childhood cancer. Since 2013, the company has traveled across the
nation, with stops in Houston,
Texas; Columbia, South
Carolina; Sacramento,
California; New York;
Atlanta, Georgia; and now
Fort Worth, celebrating heroes who
are committed to this cause. Aflac and Cook Children's Medical
Center today unveiled its Duckprints wall at the hospital to honor
these local champions.
"Because of the research happening at places like Cook
Children's Medical Center, the work conducted over the last 50
years has produced a remarkable change in the five-year childhood
cancer survival rate - leaping from 20 percent to 80 percent," said
Kathelen Amos, president of the
Aflac Foundation. "As Aflac's primary mission is to assist families
when they need it most, we are pleased to honor the special heroes
of Texas who work hard to help
more families enjoy special times with healthier, more vibrant
children."
"We are honored to recognize and celebrate these three
incredible individuals. Cook Children's is a better place because
of our partnership with Teresa, Scott and 'Hawkeye,'" Grant Harris, vice president of Cook Children's
Health Foundation said. "Our Duckprints wall will be a constant
reminder to our patients and their families that they are not alone
in their fight against cancer."
Last year, Aflac, which makes children's cancer its primary
philanthropic cause, announced its goal of exceeding the
$100-million mark for contributions
to childhood cancer by the end of 2015. Since 1995, the company has
raised and contributed $97 million,
including monthly contributions of more than $500,000 from the company's independent sales
agents. As part of the Duckprints campaign, Aflac is calling
individuals across America to become active in the cause. People
can get involved by taking to social media to talk about childhood
cancer. Aflac will donate $2 to the
fight against children's cancer for any Duckprints-related actions
taken on various social media, up to $2
million. Related social media actions include:
- Twitter - $2 for tweets using the
hashtag #duckprints or retweets of Duckprints-related tweets.
- Facebook - $2 for any share of
specific posts related to Duckprints or using #duckprints.
- YouTube - $2 per view of the Duckprints videos on YouTube.
To support the Aflac Duckprints initiative, Aflac also created a
website called aflacduckprints.com that enables users to nominate
unsung heroes in their community who have made a difference in the
lives of children and families facing cancer. In addition,
merchandise such as plush Aflac Ducks and Duckprints-related
T-shirts, slippers and other items are available for purchase at
aflacduckprints.com, with all of the net proceeds also going to
this cause.
About Duckprints Award recipient Scott Odom
Scott
Odom was born in Fort Worth,
Texas. As a young boy, he dreamed of becoming a professional
athlete. At the age of 14, his life forever changed when he was
diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Months later, he made the difficult
decision to amputate his right leg above the knee to return to an
active lifestyle and to save his life. Scott went through months
and months of rehab to relearn how to walk and use his prosthesis.
When he went back to high school, he was unable to return to
playing high school baseball as a pitcher. After high school, the
reality that he would not be able to play college sports set in,
and he felt lost.
After many years of trying to get a sports program for others
with similar experiences off the ground, he posted a video on
YouTube of himself playing basketball in his parent's backyard.
Soon, another amputee found the video and contacted Scott. Together
they co-founded Amp1 Basketball.
Through Amp1, Scott has been able to travel the country hosting
charity games benefiting different causes, as well as speaking at
numerous school assemblies all over the country. Scott also
attended a children's cancer camp through Cook Children's when he
was 15 as a camper. Since then, he has returned to the camp as a
camp counselor. He has been volunteering his time at Camp
Sanguinity for 16 years. Along with the work he does with Amp1 to
help amputees and Camp Sanguinity, helping children with cancer,
Scott also mentors kids undergoing cancer treatments and surgeries.
Scott's main focus in life is to give back and support others,
especially kids. Through all these efforts of giving back, Scott
has been awarded CBS 11's Texan with Character, Fox 4's Hometown
Hero, and named a Community Hero. He was a special guest on
the TV show "Red Band Society," and became the first above-the-knee
amputee to play in a professional basketball game.
About Duckprints Award recipient Mark "Hawkeye"
Louis
Radio listeners in Dallas/Fort Worth may know Mark Louis Rybczyk, better known as "Hawkeye,"
the longtime morning host on heritage country station 96.3 FM KSCS.
An award-winning disc jockey, Mark, along with his former partner
Terry Dorsey, had the
longest-running morning show in Dallas. An avid skier, windsurfer and
traveler, Mark is also the host of "Travel with Hawkeye," a radio
and television adventure feature that airs across the country.
"Hawkeye" first became involved with Cook Children's when he
came to Camp Sanguinity as a counselor in 2002. He continued
serving as a counselor for three more years until 2006 and then
came back to camp in 2014. "Hawkeye" always had the oldest boys'
cabin and did a tremendous job of making his teen campers feel
comfortable, as well as helping them get into the groove of camp.
He was laid back, added laughter to any situation and overall made
the camp experience a fun one for his campers. "Hawkeye" also
served on the Friends of Camp Sanguinity Board of Directors from
2004-2006.
In 2014, New Country 96.3 KSCS partnered with Cook Children's
for an inaugural radio fundraising initiative. KSCS broadcasted
live from Cook Children's, asking loyal listeners for generous
donations to help families and children affected by illness,
disease and injury. The Radiothon consists of heart-warming stories
told by children and their families, miracle moments of happy
endings, great KSCS DJ banter, local company involvement and
compelling interviews – all in support of a great cause: the
patients at Cook Children's. A resident of Fort Worth for more than two decades,
"Hawkeye" is committed to Cook Children's and laying the foundation
for this event to prosper.
About Duckprints Award recipient Teresa Clark, RN
Before coming to Cook
Children's, Teresa Clark served 10
years as a registered nurse with a specialty certification in
hematology/oncology at Irving Community Hospital, Houston's MD Anderson Cancer Research Center
and Medical Plaza Hospital in Fort
Worth.
In 1991, she joined the hematology/oncology staff of Cook
Children's stem cell transplant unit where her focus changed from
adult care to pediatrics. By 1993, as director of the Cook
Children's Cancer Center, she became an integral part of the growth
and expansion of that area, providing leadership and supervision
for all inpatient and outpatient care within the
hematology/oncology program. At the same time, Teresa was
continuing her own education, receiving a Master of Science in
healthcare administration from UTA. In the years following, she
would become the assistant vice president of nursing, vice
president of nursing, and in January of 2014, chief nursing
officer.
Teresa is on the Board of Trustees for Community Hospice of
Texas and has been very involved
in the development and ongoing support of the Cook Children's AYA
(Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer) program. She is a
preceptor for administrative residents at Cook Children's Medical
Center as well as for Regis University,
Texas Christian University and The
University of Texas at Arlington
masters-level nursing and health care administration programs. She
is also involved with mentoring activities for undergraduate and
graduate nursing students.
She was a guest presenter at the 33rd Annual
Conference of the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Nurses where she shared the findings of an evidence-based practice
project in pediatric stem cell transplant. She is a member of
several local, state and national nursing and nursing executives
organizations.
Teresa is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Practice
program at Texas Tech University and
expects to complete that program in May
2015. A native Texan, she resides in Weatherford with her husband, Bob. They have
three children. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in
Nursing in 1981 from The University of Texas
at Arlington (UTA).
About Aflac
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt,
Aflac pays cash benefits fast. For nearly six decades, Aflac
insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to
focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the United States, Aflac is the leading
provider of voluntary insurance at the work site. Through its
trailblazing One Day PaySM initiative, Aflac U.S. can
receive, process, approve and disburse payment for eligible claims
in one business day. In Japan,
Aflac is a leading provider of medical and cancer insurance and
insures 1 in 4 households. Aflac individual and group insurance
products help provide protection to more than 50 million people
worldwide. For nine consecutive years, Aflac has been recognized by
Ethisphere magazine as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies.
In 2015, Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best
Companies to Work For in America for the 17th
consecutive year. Also, in 2015, Fortune magazine included Aflac on
its list of Most Admired Companies for the 14th time, ranking the
company No. 1 in innovation for the insurance, life and health
category. Aflac Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more
about Aflac and One Day PaySM, visit aflac.com or
espanol.aflac.com.
About Cook Children's Medical Center
Cook Children's
Health Care System is a not-for-profit, nationally recognized
pediatric health care organization comprised of eight entities – a
Medical Center, Physician Network, Home Health company, Northeast
Hospital, Pediatric Surgery Center, Health Plan, Health Services
Inc. and Health Foundation. Based in Fort
Worth, Texas, the integrated system has more than 60 primary
and specialty care offices throughout North Texas. Its service region includes
Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties, with an additional referral
area encompassing nearly half the state. Cook Children's traces its
roots back to 1918, but throughout its continual change and robust
growth, it still embraces an inspiring Promise – to improve the
health of every child in its region through the prevention and
treatment of illness, disease and injury. To live up to this
Promise, Cook Children's combines the art of caring with the use of
leading technology and extraordinary collaboration to provide
exceptional care for every child, every day. For more information,
please visit www.cookchildrens.org.
Media contacts – Aflac: Jon Sullivan, 706.763.4813 or
jsullivan@aflac.com
Cook Children's: Missy Staben
682-885-2378 or missy.staben@cookchildrens.org
Analyst and investor contact – Robin Y.
Wilkey, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667, FAX: 706.324.6330, or
rwilkey@aflac.com.
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SOURCE Aflac