St. Jude 50th anniversary!

While Caroline and Gary were in Alabama for the Zyriek family reunion, I enjoyed the celebrations for St. Jude's 50th anniversary. It was a long few days full of a lot of activities and celebrations, but well worth it to learn more about the history and the prestige associated with St. Jude.  I was a part of the International Delegation dinner on Wednesday night. This includes folks from our 14 International affiliates in Central and South America as well as the Middle East. It was very interesting and the group was very overwhelmed with the growth and vision of the Hospital.  Friday was full of tours of the Chili's Care Center and the Patient Care Center. These were new tours that involved a deeper look at what a patient may endure during their stay at the hospital and we learned about the legacy bead program that each patient participates in. We were fortunate to meet the patient that the tour was about at the end and those on our tours were so excited and moved by the experience. Jordin Sparks, former American Idol winner was on campus courtesy of Target on Friday for a concert. That was a huge hit with the people in town and the patients on campus.  Friday night was a gala as was Saturday night. In between there was the Thomas Family luncheon and the Meet the Patients session. It was a very full week/weekend and I was very tired by the end but knew that it was well worth it. Not very many pictures but just a few. We are not allowed to photograph patients and so that precludes many pictures. So fortunate to be a part of such an amazing organization that has grown so much in just 50 years. Here's to the next 50!!

ready for the gala...so wish gary could have been in town to go with me. amazing evening.

fun and yummy dessert on saturday night