A small sampling of photos from the 50th Anniversary Celebration.
Click on a thumbnail to view the larger image.
Over seven hundred people gathered in the Grand Ballroom of the beautiful Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
to honor 50 years of philanthropy by the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation, the only foundation
in America dedicated exclusively to combating the disease of alcoholism and increasing awareness
that alcoholism is a respectable, treatable disease from which people can and do recover.
Adele Smithers, President of the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation, presented a series
of Foundation awards. The R. Brinkley Smithers Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to former
First Lady Betty Ford. She was presented with a $20,000 check which she donated to the Betty
Ford Center.
Paul Williams, legendary songwriter and actor, received the inaugural Adele C. Smithers
award for carrying the message of hope and the promise of help to a worldwide audience. His
$10,000 award was donated to the Creative Recovery Communities of Nashville, which operates a
school for kids in recovery.
Five nationally acclaimed d physicians were honored for their pioneering work in the Alcoholism
field, including LeClair Bissel, MD., Stanley Gitlow, M.D., Charles Lieber, M.D., Max Schneider,
M.D., and Michael H. Beaubrum, M.D., posthumously.
The star-studded evening was highlighted by an incredible performance by Natalie Cole, who
opened her set with "What A Difference A Day Makes" which set the tone for the rest of the
show.
All proceeds from the Gala were donated to four outstanding organizations: The National Council
on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), The Alcoholism Council of New York (ACNY), The Long
Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD), and The Employment Program for
Recovered Alcoholics (EPRA).
Earlier that day, Mrs. Smithers appeared at a news conference at the Waldorf, and
announced two major Foundation initiatives. The first, she is demanding that the licensed
beverage industry stop targeting youth through the marketing of products such as hard iced
tea and alco-pops: juice-like, sweet tasting beverages that contain alcohol. Secondly, the
Foundation will conduct a national poll of American leaders in corporations, government and
the armed services, to measure their attitudes regarding the use of alcohol.
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