Golden Heart Award - Call for nominations

Mr. R. E Barnes, The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation Chairman & Dr. Donald Gerace, 2009 Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Awardee (Photos by Troy Aitken)

As the year 2011 fast approaches, The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation and The Heart Ball Committee are gearing up for what promises to be a spectacular and momentous occasion as they celebrate The Foundation’s 50th anniversary, golden jubilee. Members of the public are invited to nominate individuals for The Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award. According to the Heart Ball Committee Co-chair Portia Nottage, “2011 is going to be an exciting year for The Heart Foundation. It will be note-worthy for an individual with a golden heart, who has touched the lives and hearts of others to receive this award during the 50th anniversary celebrations at The Annual Heart Ball”.

Since 1969, the award has been presented to many deserving persons. The winner of the first award was Maria Bachem, who received the 1968 Golden Heart Award, awarded in 1969. She was the Clinical Director of St. Francis Xavier’s Free Health and Pre-natal Clinic. At that time, she was recognized for her unpublicized work among the poor and the elderly during her 14 years in The Bahamas. In 1998 the award’s name was changed from “The Golden Heart Award” to “The Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award”, in honour of the founder of the award and The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation, Lady Evelyn Sassoon. Lady Sassoon established the Heart Foundation, in 1961, as a living tribute to her late husband Sir Victor Sassoon, to help persons in The Bahamas suffering from heart defects, who could not ordinarily afford heart care.

The most recent winner of the award, The 2009 Golden Heart Awardee, was Dr. Donald Gerace. Dr. Gerace is known for his giving nature and community building efforts. He gained fame in the Bahamas for his work in San Salvador at the Gerace Research Centre and his generosity in times of storm. One of Dr. Gerace’s most significant gifts to The Bahamas has been the number of students who have profited from the scholarships he has helped to arrange.
As the year 2011 will mark the 50th anniversary of The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation, The Lady Sassoon Golden Heart Award will be presented at the 47th annual Heart Ball, scheduled to be held on February 19, 2011 at Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort. Interested persons are invited to submit a nomination, to be accompanied by a letter or statement explaining why the person recommended should receive the award. Nominations are to be submitted to:

The Golden Heart Award Committee

P. O. Box N-8189

Nassau, The Bahamas

Alternatively, submissions can be hand delivered to Grosham Property, Cable Beach. This is the office site for The Sir Victor Sassoon (Bahamas) Heart Foundation.

The Deadline for nominations is January 14, 2011.

For more details about The Heart Foundation, the award or to give your support, you can call 327-0806.