CASA Tenth Anniversary Awards Dinner Honors Business Leaders With Commitment To Combating Substance Abuse

4/5/2002

From: Ellen Ross of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 212-841-5260 or 201-446-6895 (cell)

NEW YORK, April 5 -- The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse -- CASA (1) -- at Columbia University is holding its tenth Anniversary Awards Dinner, A Celebration of Leadership in Combating Substance Abuse, on Tuesday, April 10 in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Park Avenue and 50th Street, New York City. Drinks at 6:30 p.m. will be followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $500.

The CASA Distinguished Service Award will be presented by CASA president and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Joseph A. Califano, Jr., to Peter R. Dolan, Chairman and CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and to Douglas N. Daft, Chairman, Board of Directors and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.

Larry King and CASA Board Member Jamie Lee Curtis will serve as Masters of Ceremonies. Art Buchwald is the featured guest speaker. President and Mrs. Bush and all living former Presidents and First Ladies are serving as honorary chairs. Other attendees include Florida Governor Jeb Bush and his wife, Florida First Lady Columba Bush, a CASA board member; best-selling author and Vanity Fair columnist Dominick Dunne; Ann and Charlotte Ford and Fernanda Niven.

Peter R. Dolan will receive the Distinguished Service Award for Bristol-Myers Squibb's strong commitment to women's health and substance abuse research and education and its longstanding support of CASA.

Douglas N. Daft also will receive the Distinguished Service Award for his company's commitment to combating substance abuse and addiction and its founding commitment and longstanding support of CASA.

Dinner co-chairs include Frank A. Bennack, Jr., President and CEO, The Hearst Corporation; Jeffrey L. Bewkes, Chairman and CEO, HBO; Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman and CEO, American Express Company; Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, Bank One Corporation; and Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman, The Starr Foundation. Gala co-chairs include Didi and Jim Burke, Theresa and Peter Lund, Congressman Charles Rangel and his wife Mrs. Alma Rangel and Pat and John Rosenwald.

------ The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University is the only national organization that brings together under one roof all the professional disciplines needed to study and combat all types of substance abuse as they affect all aspects of society. CASA's missions are to: inform Americans of the economic and social costs of substance abuse and its impact on their lives; assess what works in prevention, treatment and law enforcement; encourage every individual and institution to take responsibility to combat substance abuse and addiction; provide those on the front lines with tools they need to succeed; and remove the stigma of substance abuse and replace shame and despair with hope.

With a staff of 74 professionals, CASA has conducted demonstration projects in 60 sites in 32 cities and 21 states focused on children, families and schools, and has been testing the effectiveness of drug and alcohol treatment, monitoring 15,000 individuals in more than 200 programs and five drug courts in 26 states.

--- (1) The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University is neither affiliated with, nor sponsored by, the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (also known as "CASA") or any of its member organizations, or any other organization with the name of "CASA."