ThinkFirst honors Donna Leno Copyright ©
2008 GALLUP The awards ceremony for the ThinkFirst
Donna Leno Award was a memorial to Lenos work and a celebration
of those who work toward injury prevention on Navajo. On Thursday, Art Hardy and Cecelia Fred were honored
with the award named after a woman who worked to bring a ThinkFirst
chapter, the only one on a Native American reservation, to the Navajo
Nation. Dr. Bob Crowell, sponsoring physician for ThinkFirst
Navajo/Eves Fund for Native American Health Initiatives, said
that the injury rate on Navajo is much higher than the rest of the
country. For instance, on Navajo, three times the national average
die on highways, he said. Enter Hardy and Fred. Between the two of them, they
have presented to some 10,000 Navajo youth about injury prevention
through the ThinkFirst program. Theres no question that these two people
have done an amazing job putting ThinkFirst on the map. They essentially
got ThinkFirst off the ground, Crowell said introducing Hardy
and Fred at the awards banquet in their honor. They are striking speakers. They are able to
reach this audience and we believe it is having an impact in reducing
risky behaviors, injuries and deaths on the highway, Crowell said. They are worthy of our attention, our support
and our emulation. These are good people who are helping save Navajo
lives, he added. It feels good to have people recognize your
work, Hardy, the director of ThinkFirst, said. This was a surprise for me to get an award,
Fred said upon presentation of a plaque. The award recipients are chosen by ThinkFirsts
board of directors. Hardy and Fred typically speak to high school audiences
of 100 to 300 youth. What we want to do is make them understand what
alcohol can do to you and what drugs can do to you so they can stay
away from it, Hardy said. We try to stop, most of all, alcohol and drug
abuse on the Navajo Nation, he said, noting that alcohol and
drug abuse are higher on Navajo than nationwide. After all the work he has done over the years educating
young people about injury prevention, Hardy will be retiring on
Jan. 1. In addition to his role as the director of ThinkFirst,
Hardy is an advocate for disabled veterans as the national director
for the Arizona chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America. Family and former co-workers of Leno, for whom the
award is named, spoke about her legacy before the awards were presented. Crowell said, She was a role model in the injury
prevention field for many, many people. Deanne Pete, Gallup Indian Medical Center health promotion
coordinator, said that Leno helped to build the health promotion
programs around the Navajo Nation after returning from a stint with
Indian Health Service headquarters in Rockville, Maryland . She believed Navajo health promotion was a leader
in health promotion, Pete said. I know she wouldve
done more for the Navajo people. Leno passed away in February 2006. ThinkFirst is a national organization with some 200 chapters nationwide and 50 chapters in other countries designed to prevent accidents and injuries. The Navajo chapter has been operating for four years and most of its activities are based out of the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock. |
Monday ThinkFirst honors Donna Leno Grants Food pantry seeking donations Mock disaster has agencies on the same frequency Native America Section |
Independent
Web Edition 5-Day Archive:
|
||||
|
||||
| Home | Daily News | Archive | Subscribe | All contents property of the
Gallup Independent.
Any duplication or republication requires consent of the Gallup Independent. Please send the Gallup Independent feedback on this website and the paper in general. Send questions or comments to gallpind@cia-g.com |