NATIONAL JEWISH HEALTH

Denver

News: Just like Willy, the title character in the movie “Wonka,” who believed it only takes a dream to make a difference, the recipient of the 2024 Arthur B. Lorber Award for Distinguished Service, Eddie Robinson, accepted his honor by giving credit where credit is due.

Recalling how he suffered from asthma until age 12, the 91-year-old former co-owner of Robinson Dairy, praised the scientists at National Jewish Health whose research has led to better treatments for the sometimes-life-threatening condition in which a person’s airways become inflamed, narrow and swell, making it difficult to breathe.

Robinson, who will mark his 92nd birthday on May 2, accepted National Jewish Health’s highest honor at the 27th Beaux Arts Ball, a “Wonka”-themed extravaganza that raised $2.5 million and brought some 1,000 people to the Hyatt Regency at the Colorado Convention Center on March 9.

“Something I wanted to see in my lifetime was the development of a less harsh treatment for asthma,” Robinson said, adding that thanks to the work of the world-class specialists at National Jewish Health his dream has come true.

The Lorber Award was established in 1982 and has been presented only 24 times since then. “We rarely give it,” noted Evan Zucker, chairman of the National Jewish board, adding that “When we do, it goes to someone exceptionally deserving.”

Robinson’s service to National Jewish spans nearly six decades, Zucker said, and includes chairing the board of directors, being made a lifetime member of the board and having been a Grand Marshal of the Beaux Arts Ball in 2000.

“I feel like somewhere along the line I’ve made a difference,” Robinson concluded.

Bonnie and David Mandarich were the presenting sponsors for the Wonka Beaux Arts Ball, which also was the occasion to celebrate the 2024 Grand Marshals: Jim Reuter, chief executive officer of FirstBank; Cal Fulenwider III, chairman/CEO of L.C. Fulenwider, Inc.; L. Roger Hutson, founder, president and CEO of HRM Resources; and Elizabeth and Steve Kris. He is the principal of Conundrum Capital, and she retired in 2000 following a successful career in the securities industry.

David Mandarich is the president/CEO of Richmond American Homes; his wife, a two-time lung cancer survivor who credits her current good health with care received at National Jewish Health, serves on the National Jewish Health board of directors and is a past chair of one of its other fundraisers, Rev the Runway.

Dr. Michael Salem, the president/CEO of National Jewish Health, thanked the guests by noting that the $2.5 million raised that night “Enables our world-class experts to make medical breakthroughs and deliver unequalled care to thousands of children and adults who rely on our expertise to treat and cure the most complex lung, heart, immune and related conditions. Our legacy of significant medical innovation is nothing short of amazing. We have led the way in understanding the root causes, genetic links and other factors of diseases such as severe asthma and allergies, cystic fibrosis, COPD and lung cancer.

“Our work to uncover effective treatments, from biologics and immunotherapies to vaccines and novel therapies for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, has been game-changing in the medical community, and life-changing for countless patients.”

About the organization: The nonprofit National Jewish Health was founded 125 years ago and today is the only facility in the world dedicated exclusively to groundbreaking medical research and treatment of children and adults with respiratory, cardiac, immune and related disorders.

Website: njhealth.org

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