APRIL 8, 2005 | Before there was an Arkansas Race for the Cure, or an Arkansas Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, there was Pat Torvestad, a whirlwind of persistence and compassion who was instrumental in making it all happen.

Torvestad, vice chancellor for communications and marketing at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), was recognized today at the foundation’s awards and grants luncheon, at which UAMS received three grants totaling $154,727.

Torvestad received the Hickingbotham Award for Service, the highest recognition from the Komen Arkansas Affiliate. She is a long-time Komen volunteer and board member and co-founder of the Arkansas Race for the Cure. She accepted the award from former recipient and race co-founder, Pat McClelland.

“You have touched and improved the lives or thousands of Arkansas women through your contributions in helping establish not only the Arkansas Race for the Cure but the Komen Foundation’s Arkansas Affiliate,” McClelland told Torvestad. “Your willingness to always share your expertise and your boundless energy and caring for other women is an inspiration.”

The Hickingbotham Award is named in honor of businessman Frank Hickingbotham and his family, who were founding sponsors of the Arkansas Race for the Cure.

During the meeting the Komen Arkansas Affiliate also inducted Deborah O. Erwin, Ph.D., director of cancer education for the UAMS Arkansas Cancer Research Center, professor of health behavior and health education in the UAMS College of Public Health and adjunct in the department of surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine, into the Komen Pink Ribbon Society for her work and leadership in the area of breast health and breast health awareness.

During the meeting, Arkansas Affiliate executive director Sherrye McBryde and grants committee chair Vickey Metrailer announced the grants.  “As support for the Komen Arkansas Race for the Cure® and other programs have grown, so has our potential for providing grants to worthy organizations in Arkansas who are filling a real need in the fight against breast cancer,” said McBryde.

Of the 25 Komen grants totaling more than $758,346 that were distributed to Arkansas organizations, UAMS received the largest.  Grants to UAMS announced during the luncheon were:

·        $86,225 to the UAMS Arkansas Cancer Research Center for its program, “Modular Screening Coupled with Patient Generated Screening to Increase Early Breast Cancer Detection in Arkansas.”

·        $51,930 to UAMS for its program “LaCasa Breast Health Navigator.”

·        $16,572 to the UAMS Delta Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in Helena for its program “Your Body, Your Health, Fighting Breast Cancer Through Education.”

Komen Foundation grant recipients must meet strict criteria and this year the grants committee placed a special emphasis on underserved areas and areas of unfilled need in Arkansas. Grants awarded by the Arkansas Affiliate of the Komen Foundation are funded by monies raised locally through events such as Komen Arkansas Race for the Cure® and the Build for the Cure™.  Grants are for one year.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died of breast cancer at the age of 36.  The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation is credited as one of the nation’s leading catalysts in the fight against breast cancer. 

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Susan G. Komen Foundation: http://www.komen.org

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