Dr. and pilot Martin DeBerardinis finds his volunter service to be deeply rewarding.

I’ve just returned from two days of good news.

Some 60 extraordinary Americans shared their stories of volunteerism at the National Jefferson Awards Ceremonies in Washington, D.C. June 21-22. This is considered the Nobel Prize for public service, founded in 1972 by Jackie Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Sam Beard and Robert M. Ford.

My husband, Wayne, and I were there to support Marty DeBerardinis, one of our Angel Flight pilots. In April, Marty had won a local Jefferson Award. He was one of 12 recipients chosen by their employer, AstraZeneca, in Wilmington, Delaware. Then, in another selection process, Marty was named as the national award winner, meaning he went to Washington.

The historic Mayflower Hotel was the setting for Monday night’s welcome dinner, followed by one-minute speeches from each award recipient. Marty explained his work of flying patients in his Piper Archer to distant, specialized medical care. Besides donating his private time and aircraft, he pays for all expenses associated with each flight.  

Marty is AstraZeneca’s Director of Medicines Evaluation. He says that flying for Angel Flight gives him “firsthand glimpses into how medicines make a difference in patient’s lives and how access to healthcare affects people in a health crisis, especially when cost is a fundamental issue.”

The next day, Jefferson award winners met with their U.S. senators. That evening, dressed in formal attire, we were all bused to the spacious, marble-pillared National Building Museum for the gala banquet and ceremony where a group of top-level recipients received Sam Beard, Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis, Champion and other awards. 

Among them were: a wish grantor (I called her a fairy godmother) for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the CEO of Goodwill Industries whose mission is to help the blind, disabled and disadvantaged find work, and a young medical student who founded a nonprofit organization called HEARTs to educate the public about basic health issues and provide free screenings while directing the uninsured to free health clinics.

Impressive people, all.

The Jefferson Awards keeps finding new ways to inspire and develop public service. Whether through its media partners, its “champion” corporations like AstraZeneca and other businesses that support the “Jeffs,” or the new Students in Action program, this organization is a powerful force for good. Visit www.JeffersonAwards.org.

2 Responses to “Jefferson Awards Showcase Good Samaritans”

  1. Suzanne Rhodes Says:
    June 28th, 2010 at 8:36 am

    As a P.S., it is worth noting that Mercy Medical Airlift’s founder and CEO, Ed Boyer, won the national Jefferson Award in 1990 for his development of a national system of charitable medical air transportation in the U.S.

  2. Katy Says:
    October 5th, 2010 at 9:17 pm

    I am so impressed with the quality of this blog. Thank God for the people at Mercy Medical Airlift!