Robert Miller:
Luncheon to honor caregivers

08:06 AM CST on Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Stage and television actress Dixie Carter will deliver the keynote address Wednesday at the Hats Off to Caregivers Awards Luncheon benefiting United Cerebral Palsy of Metropolitan Dallas.

The luncheon at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel will recognize people who provide exemplary care to individuals of all ages with physical and mental disabilities.

The three principal award recipients are:

•Highland Park United Methodist Church Night OWLS – The "Ideal Caregiver Award." The Night OWLS (Out With Loving Sitters) program provides an evening of care and fun for children who have special needs and their siblings.

•Autism Treatment Center in Dallas – The Caregiver "Innovation" Award. The center's innovative CAT-D (Computer Accommodations for Texans with Disabilities) Project uses custom video prompting to teach autistic adults greater independence.

•Dr. Mona Khanna, medical correspondent for KTVT-TV (Channel 11) – The Caregiver "Inspiration" Award. Dr. Khanna did a series about the role caregiving played in inspiring a cancer survivor.

Judges included Dallas County Commissioner Maureen Dickey; Dr. Scott Fitzgerald, president of MD on Call; Dan Hansen, founder of Technology Innovation Group; Dr. Bob Kramer, chief executive of Decision Health; and David Shanahan, president of Mary Crowley Medical Research Center.

Debbie and Jim Francis are honorary co-chairs of the awards luncheon. Billie Leigh Rippey, founder of the Women's Guild of United Cerebral Palsy and chairwoman of the advisory board, was instrumental in arranging the luncheon program.

Bill Knudsen is president and chief executive of United Cerebral Palsy of Metropolitan Dallas.

Major underwriters include the Foundation of the Women's Guild of United Cerebral Palsy, Ed Haggar Foundation, Interstate Batteries, Physicians Choice, Raymond James & Associates, Robert Williams Chrysler Dodge Jeep, Sharif & Munir, Ruth C. and Charles Sharp Foundation, Tri-Dal Ltd. and the Van C. and Lou Morton Ellis Fund of the Communities Foundation of Texas.

Tickets are $100 each. Call Elizabeth Martin at 214-351-2500, ext. 253.

Ambassador to speak

Frank McKenna, Canadian ambassador to the United States, will address Wednesday's World Affairs Council of Greater Dallas luncheon at Hotel Crescent Court.

His address, which is open to the public, will cover the waterfront of U.S.-Canadian relations: Canada's Partnership with the United States, from Katrina Support to the War on Terrorism to the Largest Integrated Trading Relationship in the World.

Mr. McKenna, who's pro-business and outspoken, is considered a leading candidate to head the Liberal Party and become the next prime minister in the 2006 election.

Grant Thornton and Royal Bank of Canada are the major sponsors.

Tickets are $30. Call the council at 214-965-8400 or visit www.dallasworld.org. Valet parking for the luncheon is free.

E-mail bmiller@dallasnews.com

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