Volunteers Honored

Mireille and Michel Proux

Mireille and Michel Proux of France were honored for their work in producing the first VHL Handbook in French. They have done an excellent job of organizing the French affiliate, VHL France, with legal incorporation, a Board of Directors, Medical Advisory Board, and chapter chairs in the seven regions of France. With the assistance of Merck Sharp and Dohme pharmaceuticals in France donated the printing of Le Manuel von Hippel-Lindau.

Altheada and Fred Johnson

Altheada Johnson was elected by the Board to be Chairman of the Board. This is the highest honor the Board can confer on one of its members. Altheada has played an essential role in fund-raising and public relations. She is a tireless letter writer, and has appeared on agendas at meetings on Minorities and Cancer (D.C.); Women and Genetics (Illinois), and she will present a poster at a conference in Alabama in September. Altheada is our in-house consultant on nutrition, and heads an informal alternative medicine interest group. She is in touch with doctors and researchers on the topics of pain management and pre-implantation testing.

Fred supervises the internet account, coaching the volunteers with whom you will correspond when you write to info@vhl.org: Damon G., Massachusetts; Vernon H., Pennsylvania; Phill Terry, Ohio; and Bob L., Illinois. With donated computer time from the United Methodist Church in New York, he organized and supervised a computer bulletin board, the precursor to our Web service on the internet.

Peggy and Don M.

Peggy and Don M. were honored in Hawaii as our 1996 Volunteers of the Year, receiving the 24-karat Minster Pin donated by Minster’s jewelers for our annual volunteer award. Their work is deserving of honor in many ways. In particular, their most visible achievement this year was the creation and on-going maintenance of a handbook for our chapter chairs and hotline and internet volunteers. This handbook is invaluable in providing a ready resource to these volunteers so that they can provide competent answers and referrals to people who contact us by telephone or over the internet.Peggy is a Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, and chairs the Chapters and Hotline committees. She organized the hotline, interviewed, engaged, and supervises the wonderful volunteers on her committee: Eva L., Georgia; Barbara R., Florida; Altheada J., New York; and Lois E., Minnesota. Don chairs the Publications Committee and takes responsibility for the publication and shipment of all our membership materials.Peggy and Don share the chairmanship of the Mississippi chapter, and provide guidance throughout the Mid-South region (Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee).

In her role as Chapters Chair, Peggy recruited nine new chapter chairs this year. She provides coaching to all the chapter chairs.

Peggy and Don have done an outstanding job of fund-raising. In fact, Mississippi has raised more local fund-raising for research per capita than any other state. They placed Karen Koenig’s book with a local inspirational bookstore, sold cookbooks, and got pledges of $10 or more from local business people. "We are all volunteers, we have no federal funding. VHL is a small disease which may not be among the top priorities for society at large, but in my family, it’s a top priority. If we don’t work hard to raise money, promote research, and make VHL a household word, who else is going to do it?"

As published in the VHL Family Forum, 4:3, September 1996. For permission to reprint, please contact the VHL Family Alliance, editor@vhl.org. Further information is available from the VHL Family Alliance, info@vhl.org.