Sam Donaldson To Receive 2000 Ambassador of Hope
Award
The Friends of the University of Nebraska Medical Centers Eppley Cancer
Center will honor ABC News veteran Sam Donaldson with the 2000 Ambassador
of Hope Award on Nov. 17. His wife, Jan Smith-Donaldson, a CNN reporter,
also will be recognized. Tickets are available for the dinner at the Strategic
Air Command Museum, where the Donaldsons will be acknowledged.
The Ambassador of Hope Award is given every other year by the Friends
of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center, a community-based group committed to
raising funds for cancer research, to individuals who have made a significant
contribution in the fight against cancer through their research or patient
care activities or by raising the publics awareness of cancer.
Sam Donaldsons contributions to the fight against cancer made him
the logical choice for this award, said Kenneth H. Cowan, M.D., Ph.D.,
director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center. He is a strong advocate of
cancer research which is the key to beating these diseases. We are honoring
him for his hard work and to show our appreciation.
Tickets for the dinner are available with several different cost options
for individuals, couples, corporations and groups. Invitations will be
sent throughout the community prior to the event. Proceeds raised from
the dinner will go toward cancer research at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.
For ticket information or to become a Friend of the UNMC Eppley Cancer
Center, call (402) 559-4090.
The Donaldsons have been advocates of cancer research since his diagnosis
with melanoma cancer and her mothers and sisters diagnoses with breast
cancer. A 32-year veteran with ABC News, Donaldson has been a national
spokesperson for cancer awareness and works to increase the national budget
for cancer research. In 1998, he was one of the key leaders, along with
Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, at the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorships
(NCCS) March on Washington and served as the master of ceremonies for the
NCCS Rays of Hope Candlelight Vigil in 1999. Donaldson is an active participant
in the National Dialog on Cancer and is on the board of directors for Research
America, an alliance for discoveries in health care. Smith-Donaldson has
been actively involved in raising funds for cancer research. She
most recently chaired the gala for the Cancer Research Foundation of America
in Washington, D.C.
During the 1997-1998 season of Prime Time Live, Donaldson co-anchored
a special edition of the program with Judd Rose, in which the two men shared
their personal experiences with cancer. In 1999, Donaldson received the
Gilda Radner Courage Award from the Roswell Park Alliance, honoring those
who generate awareness of the fight against cancer.
In addition to three Emmy Awards and a George Foster Peabody Award,
Donaldson received the Broadcaster of the Year award from the National
Press Foundation in 1998. He was named the Best Television White House
Correspondent in the Business by the Washington Journal Review in 1985,
and the Best Television Correspondent in the Business in 1986, 1987, 1988
and 1989.
Donaldson served two appointments as Chief White House Correspondent
for ABC, covering Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton. He also is a correspondent
for 20/20″ and the co-anchor of the ABC News Sunday morning broadcast,
This Week With Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts.
The first Spirit of Hope Award will be given posthumously to Susanna
M. Kocsis, an Omaha artist and cancer research and awareness advocate who
lost her battle with breast cancer in June. Her artwork has been the centerpiece
of UNMC Eppley Cancer Center fund raising efforts including the Bouquet
of Hope program.
The award dinner for Donaldson is being coordinated by the Friends of
the UNMC Cancer Center. Honorary chairpersons for the event are Ken and
Anne Stinson. The general chairperson for the event is Jody Hobson.