Stanford Financial Group and its Chairman, Sir Allen Stanford, each receive prestigious award from ALSAC/St. Jude
Memphis, Tenn. – June 26, 2008 –ALSAC, the fundraising organization of St. Jude Children Research Hospital®, presented Stanford Financial Group and its Chairman, Sir Allen Stanford, with awards on June 20 during a dinner attended by the ALSAC/St. Jude Boards of Directors and Governors and ALSAC staff members from around the country. Sir Allen Stanford received the organization’s highest honor, the Michael F. Tamer award, and Stanford Financial Group received the award for Corporate Sponsor of the Year.
The individual award presented to Sir Allen Stanford was created in honor of Michael F. Tamer, who served as the first chief executive officer of ALSAC and helped St. Jude founder Danny Thomas raise the necessary funds to build the hospital and maintain it in its early years. Tamer is credited with helping Thomas realize his dream of establishing a world renowned research and treatment center for children stricken with cancer and other deadly diseases.
“Each year, the Michael F. Tamer award is given to an individual who has shown a lasting and abiding commitment to St. Jude. Mr. Stanford deserves this prestigious honor because of his belief that there is always one more thing he can do for the children of St. Jude,” said John P. Moses, chief executive officer of ALSAC. “His company has embraced our mission of saving the lives of some of the world’s sickest children, and he has worked tirelessly to spread the message of our groundbreaking research and care. I am grateful for Mr. Stanford’s leadership and compassion. We are honored to call Stanford Financial Group a friend of St. Jude.”
“I am both honored and humbled to receive the Michael F. Tamer Award,” said Sir Allen Stanford. “At Stanford, we’re committed to strengthening the communities across the globe in which we do business and we believe that nothing strengthens a community more than healthy, happy children. That’s why we named St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Stanford’s charity of choice two years ago. The incredible miracles St. Jude performs every day – for the children
Stanford receives two awards
and for their families – regardless of their ability to pay, is what Danny Thomas’ dream was about; and I am committed to doing all I can to keep his dream alive. I’ve seen the results that St. Jude achieves. I’ve seen the smiles on these children’s faces, and it’s for these reasons that I feel so very blessed to receive this award.”
Under the leadership of Sir Allen Stanford, the partnership between St. Jude and Stanford began in 2005, when Stanford began raising funds for the hospital through the sponsorship of dinners and galas in multiple cities across the country. Since that time, Stanford Financial Group has become one of St. Jude’s largest corporate partners, helping to raise more than $15 million for the hospital.
In 2006, Stanford committed to donate $6 million for the St. Jude International Outreach Program. The funds help St. Jude share knowledge, technology and organizational skills with partner sites in nine countries in Central, South and Latin America.
In 2007, Stanford assumed title sponsorship of the Memphis PGA TOUR event, previously known as the FedEx St. Jude Classic, now named the Stanford St. Jude Championship. That same year, Stanford created the Eagles for St. Jude program, through which Stanford made a $1,000 donation to St. Jude for every eagle made on the PGA TOUR. As a result of these golf tournament-related efforts, the hospital received a record-breaking donation of $1.76 million in the first year of Stanford’s sponsorship.
In 2008, Stanford expanded the Eagles for St. Jude program by committing to donate $1,000 for every eagle made on both the PGA and LPGA Tours.
About St. Jude
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fund-raising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.
On the PGA TOUR, an eagle can mean the difference between winning and losing. And now for the children of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, an eagle on the PGA TOUR can help make the difference in their life and death struggle.
PGA TOUR professional and World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Vijay Singh has stepped up to join Stanford in the Eagles for St. Jude program by committing to make his own $1,000 donation for every eagle he makes this year.