Sponsors      Silent Auction Donors      Heroes Dinner Review

The following was orginially published in the November 2007 NAMI News.

On October 24, 2007, NAMI Montgomery County hosted its 8th annual Heroes Dinner Silent Auction at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rockville, Maryland to honor outstanding individuals for their time and efforts in helping people with mental illness and their family members. Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, Carol and Tom Moran, Dr. Daniel Pine, Officer Bradley Schmidt and the CIT Trainer Program were each recognized for their commitment to people with mental illness. The keynote speaker for the dinner was Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center, and author of several well-regarded and popular books on bipolar disorder. She spoke frankly of her intimate knowledge of mental illness and the role it has played in her personal and professional life. Her willingness to present herself to the world as a person who has both many accomplishments and a mental illness makes her a role model and a true hero.

Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg received the Local Hero Award. Ms. Trachtenberg has been an effective activist for over twenty years on women’s equality, mental health and public health issues. She has consistently worked to keep issues related to mental illness present in the minds of government officials and has always welcomed NAMI’s input. She spoke of the role mental illness has played in her life, her commitment to making life better for consumers, and the fact that her mentally ill son is her hero.

This year, for the first time, we presented the Dr. Wayne Fenton Memorial Award. Dr. Fenton was a long-time friend to NAMI – both a member of the NAMI MC Advisory Council and an exceptionally well respected volunteer speaker at NAMI events. He was personally and professionally committed to making this a better world for consumers and their families. We were very pleased to have his wife Nancy and daughter Kaylan at the Heroes Dinner for the presentation of this special award.

Nancy Fenton presented the award to Dr. Daniel Pine, the current Chief, Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience and Chief of Child and Adolescent Research in the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program of the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program. Dr. Pine shared with us his professional as well as his personal relationship with Dr. Fenton, whom he considered a role model, a hero, and a great colleague. He also spoke about how Dr. Fenton helped him when he was dealing with the challenges of helping his own mentally ill brother.

Carol and Tom Moran were our Volunteers of the Year. The Morans have been active in NAMI MC for over 9 years, both as Family-to-Family teachers and as Thrift Shop volunteers and are known for their good-natured, empathetic, and committed presence. Their joint presentation was an example to all of us as to how they work together as a team, and as members of the NAMI MC team.

Officer Bradley Schmidt was our honoree as Crisis Intervention Team Officer of the Year. As a police officer and member of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), Officer Schmidt is one of the first officers to arrive when an individual is in need of specialized mental health help during the crisis situation. Officer Betsy Davis, Chief of the Field Service Bureau introduced Officer Schmidt and spoke of his positive qualities and reliability as a police officer. Officer Schmidt expressed his gratitude for the CIT training he received and for the opportunity to serve the community in this capacity.

Steve Miller and Jim Gilmore of the Montgomery County Crisis Center accepted the CIT Trainer Appreciation Award. The CIT training class provides 40 hours of instruction on mental health issues and equips our patrol officers with the necessary skills to handle crisis situations that might otherwise escalate. Over 28% of our police officers have received this training.

This was the largest Heroes Dinner and Silent Auction so far with over 230 people registered. Everyone who was there thoroughly enjoyed the reception, silent auction, dinner and speakers. We thank all of the guests and our generous sponsors, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, and Pepco; as well as the many donors to the silent auction.