Lifetime Achievement Award
Jim Davis, creator of Garfield

Emmy-Award-winning cartoonist Jim Davis is best known for making millions laugh with America's favorite fat cat, Garfield. Davis' cartoon reaches 263 million readers around the globe, but it all began on a cow farm in Marion, IN.

"Asthma had a profound effect on my life," Davis says. "I grew up in a 100-year-old farmhouse, and the farm had lots of animals... not exactly the perfect environment for a person with asthma. While I was having an attack, I couldn't go outside to play, so to entertain myself, I always liked to draw."

Read Jim Davis's acceptance speech
View Jim Davis's acceptance speech

To learn more about Jim Davis, read "Garfield Owes His Life to Asthma" (pg 12) in the Summer 2004 edition of Allergy & Asthma Today magazine. Click here to find out how to receive your copy, or call 800.878.4403.

Making a Difference Award — State
Paula Knish, RN

Paula Knish, RN, a nurse and mother of five children with allergies and asthma, was instrumental in changing North Carolina law regarding treatment of anaphylaxis in schools. Seconds count when a person develops anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction best treated by immediate use of auto-injectable epinephrine. When she realized school personnel in her area were neither trained nor equipped to administer emergency medication to students experiencing an anaphylactic response to food or inhalant allergies, she did something about it.

As head of the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools First Responder Program, Paula Knish lobbied to change North Carolina law to allow schools to maintain a supply of epinephrine and set up a training program to teach school staff how to respond to asthma and allergy emergencies.

Making a Difference Award — Community
Stanley Galant, MD

Stanley Galant, MD, Children's Hospital of Orange County, CA, founded the Breathmobile program in 2001. Outfitted as a medical clinic, the 36-foot van travels to schools and childcare centers throughout Central Orange County where childhood asthma rates are high and access to medical care is low. The medical staff provides services including screenings and diagnosis, family education and medical device.

To date, Dr. Galant and the Breathmobile have reached hundreds of families with asthma and allergies. Dr. Galant hopes to add many more underserved communities to the program in the future.

Creative Kids Award — K-5^th Grade

1^st Place
Evan Mungan, Arnold, MD
illustration

2^nd Place
Brittany Blaine, Gastonia, NC

3^rd Place
Krystina R. Hanntz, Ringoes, NJ

Creative Kids Award — 6^th-8^th Grade

1^st Place
Rachael Lambin, Gardenerville, NV
"When I Can Breathe", Poem

2^nd Place
Rachel Frome, Montclair, NJ

3^rd Place
Allen Samuel, Cambria Heights, NY