The following was orginially published in the December 2008 NAMI News.
Just one night following our country’s presidential election, NAMI Montgomery County held its annual Heroes Celebration. Attendance was very good, and people were quite enthusiastic about the election and our event, making for an exciting evening.
Our heroes this year provided the keynote speeches while giving us a chance to hear why they became interested in creating the WTOP 20-part series, “The Loneliest Disease”. Darci Marchese spoke about her personal connection to serious mental illness through her brother, and the tragedy that ensued. Kate Ryan spoke about her commitment to improving the lives of people with mental illness that was made stronger by her work on this series. Chris Core, our Master of Ceremonies, and also a WTOP employee presented them with the awards.
Our Dr. Wayne Fenton Memorial Award was presented to Dr. Marc Nemiroff, a practicing psychiatrist in Montgomery County who has done a great deal of pro bono international work on serious mental illnesses. He was very touched to receive this award, and we were proud to award it to him.
Our CIT Officer of the Year was presented to Brandon Pallechia by CIT Coordinator Officer Joan Logan. Each year, a police officer goes above and beyond their regular duties and then qualifies to receive this award.
Our Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Edith Salazar, a new volunteer who has worked very hard to make our Latino Outreach program successful.
As always, the silent auction attracted a great deal of bidding, and even some bidding wars. Each year it gets bigger, better and focuses on different items.
We thank all of the guests and table sponsors and our generous event sponsors, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and Pepco; as well as the many donors to the silent auction.
Finally, I owe many thanks to the NAMI MC staff who worked tirelessly to put this event together. NAMI MC is fortunate to have such a committed staff.
National Alliance on Mental Illness 
Heroes Celebration 2009