Our Public Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health was presented to Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., M.D.

Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., M.D., has improved the lives of countless people around the globe through his outstanding contributions to cancer research and treatment. He is Chairman of the Yale Cancer Center Advisory Board and Professor of Internal Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. DeVita is the first appointee to the post of "The Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine" at Yale University.

In 1980, he was appointed by the President of the United States, as Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Cancer Program. In 1988 he left NCI to become Physicianin- Chief and Benno C. Schmidt Chair in Clinical Oncology at Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center in New York and Professor of Medicine at Cornell University (1988–1993), and in 1993 assumed the Directorship of the Yale Cancer Center (1993–2003). In 2000, Dr. DeVita was appointed Chair of the National Cancer Legislative Advisory Committee by Senator Dianne Feinstein. This committee worked closely with the National Dialogue on Cancer, which recommended revisions that could be made to the National Cancer Act of 1971.

Along with colleagues at the NCI, Dr. DeVita was instrumental in developing combination chemotherapy programs such as the four-drug combination protocol known by the acronym MOPP, which led to the curative chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s disease and diffuse large-cell lymphomas. These experiments were paramount in proving that drugs could cure advanced cancer. Dr. DeVita and his colleagues played a major role in developing similar treatments for other lymphomas and for ovarian and breast cancers.

Dr. DeVita has been recognized with numerous international awards for his contributions to cancer care. These range from the 1972 Albert and Mary Lasker Medical Research Award for his contribution to the cure of Hodgkin’s disease, the Armand Hammer and Pezcoller Prizes, to his election to the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Science, and the European Academy of Sciences for his outstanding and ongoing contribution to cancer research and medical education. Dr. DeVita serves on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals and is an author of more than 450 articles. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief, Nature Clinical Practice Oncology and Editor-in- Chief of Current Clinical Trials: Oncology.

He is one of the three editors of Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology, the most popular cancer textbook in the world.

Our Public Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health was presented to the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation

Charles and Roberta Kaman's intuitive knowledge of how German shepherd guide dogs could help people with visual disabilities live more normal lives was the genesis of the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation. Beginning in 1960, the work done by this innovative couple and an evergrowing group of dedicated and tireless staff, volunteers and supporters, has reached out and touched thousands of clients' and family members' lives.

Today, with George Salpietro as executive director, Fidelco is an accredited member of the International Guide Dog Federation and a recognized leader in the guide dog industry. The nonprofit organization has placed more than 1,000 superbly trained German shepherds throughout the U.S. and Canada, and its clients run the gamut from business people, to college students, to the neighbors who live down the street. And in every case, their Fidelco guide dogs are with them every step of the way.

Fidelco has a national focus but every placement is local. That is why their instructor-trainers traveled more than 100,000 miles last year to their clients' homes and places of work to help them take the first important step toward freedom and independence. Fidelco pioneered this "In-community Placement" process in the U.S. During the training, clients have the support of their family, friends and co-workers and, as importantly, Fidelco's instructor-trainers can carefully evaluate a new client's progress up close and personal to quickly develop smooth-working guide dog teams.

Fidelco is proud of its past and is preparing for the future. According to a recent study, 8.3 million Americans are blind in one or both eyes or have trouble seeing. That number is expected to increase dramatically in the next ten years, largely as a result of the aging Baby Boomer population.

As Fidelco continues its work on behalf of men and women with visual disabilities, the organization keeps close to its heart Charlie Kaman’s oft-stated conviction that "Failure is not an option because the need is far too great."

Our Public Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to Public Health was presented to Dan and Claire Marino & The Dan Marino Foundation

Dan Marino is one of the most celebrated athletes in the world. As quarterback of the Miami Dolphins for 17 consecutive seasons, he held 20 National Football League records. In August 2005, Dan was guaranteed his place in sports history by being inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. Since retiring in 2000, he has leveraged his sports expertise into new arenas as a co-host of HBO’s Emmy Award-winning weekly football show Inside the NFL and as an in-studio host of CBS's The NFL Today.

Claire Marino certainly lays claim to numerous accolades herself. As a busy mother with six children ranging in age from 10 to 21, she still finds time to dedicate her life to giving and working on behalf of children with special needs. Claire was instrumental in the growth of the Baudhuin School, a preschool for children with autism; served as Honorary Chairperson for the National Alliance for Autism Research’s Walkathons; and worked within the local and state autism communities to help establish the Centers for Autism and Related Disabilities.

Motivated by experiences in raising their second son, Michael, who has autism, Dan and Claire created the Dan Marino Foundation in 1992. The Marinos realized the need for comprehensive and integrated treatment programs for children with developmental disabilities and chronic medical problems.

In 1998, the Marinos, along with Miami Children's Hospital, built the Dan Marino Center in Weston, Florida, a free-standing pediatric subspecialty center providing the most comprehensive and integrated diagnostics and treatments for children with developmental disabilities, autism and chronic medical problems. The Center serves more than 25,000 children annually.

The Marinos understand that not all individuals with autism and their families have access to services. In 2004, the Foundation launched Childnett.tv, a 24-hour free web TV channel that is dedicated to autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders and showcases personal stories, therapies and the latest medical breakthroughs.

In 2006, the Marinos introduced the Marino Autism Research Institute (MARI). MARI is a "virtual institute" designed to sponsor cross-university collaborative research in understanding, treating and preventing autism.

As the Marino family has matured— Michael is now in college studying Communications—so has Dan and Claire’s vision for the Foundation. Once young adults with special needs graduate from high school, their options for engaging in society can become alarmingly narrow. The Foundation is now fully engaged in conducting programs to support life skills education.