Press Releases
ATLANTA – October 2, 2017 – Two exemplary volunteers have been honored with the American Cancer Society 2018 Volunteer Leadership Award, a prestigious national honor for volunteers with extraordinary contributions to the fight against cancer through humanitarian, distinguished service and leadership.
This year’s recipients include Stephanie Lyford, Loves Park, IL; and Rebecca Perkins, M.D., MS, Boston, MA.
“We are privileged to present this honor to these two outstanding volunteers for their inspirational accomplishments and dedication,” said Arnold M. Baskies, M.D., FACS, chair, American Cancer Society Board of Directors. “We are honored to have such dedicated leaders whose work is helping us achieve our mission to lead the fight for a world without cancer.”
Stephanie Lyford is recognized for her five years of service at the national level with our Relay For Life movement. She has served as the National Relay Leadership Team Co-Lead from 2012 to 2016, and has held a variety of national and local Relay positions throughout the past several years. While in these positions, Lyford has been known for her leadership, passion, and positive attitude during times of change. Her expertise in change management in her professional career has allowed her to be an encouraging voice to other volunteers and staff partners. These important contributions will leave a lasting impact on our Relay For Life program.
As an ACS funded researcher and an expert on HPV, Rebecca Perkins works in collaboration with our Global Headquarters staff, the HPV Roundtable, and the HPV Vaccinate Adolescents against Cancers program (HPV VACs). Through her leadership of the survivor involvement task group, Perkins spearheaded a suite of HPV survivor videos which have been widely used by ACS and national partners. This year, the HPV VACs project began a maintenance of certification pilot project building off her knowledge and expertise with primary care field staff across the country. Perkin’s enthusiasm and passion for preventing HPV-related cancers continues to be key to our success.
To learn more about the American Cancer Society awards programs, visit cancer.org.