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Shaq O'Neal Awarded As Father Of The Year

 Save the Children is proud to announce that the leader of its U.S. Programs division, Mark K. Shriver, will host the 71st Annual Father of the Year Awards.

The event will take place at the Sheraton New York Hotel on Thursday, June 14, 2012, and will include a VIP press reception at 11:15 a.m., followed by a luncheon to be held at 12 p.m.

Recently, the National Father’s Day Council announced that the 2012 “Father of the Year” honorees will include Oscar Feldenkreis, President CEO of Perry Ellis International Inc., Reynold Levy, President of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Shaquille O'Neal, TNT Commentator, four-time NBA Championship Winner, and three-time Finals MVP, and John A. Thain, Chairman and CEO of CIT Group Inc.

“We are thrilled to have Mark Shriver, past ‘Father of the Year’ honoree and host, return to serve as Master of Ceremonies at our 71st Annual Father of the Year Awards,” said Dana Verrill, Executive Director of the National Father’s Day/Mother’s Day Council, Inc. “Mark Shriver’s philanthropic efforts have helped to improve the lives of 147,000 children across the country. He is a true inspiration to fathers everywhere, from his dedication to Save the Children to his passion and love for his family.”

Mr. Shriver developed Save the Children’s early childhood development, literacy and health programs, which benefit children living in some of the most impoverished regions of the United States. Mr. Shriver also created Save the Children’s domestic emergency programs in 2005 to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children before, during, and after disaster strikes. He led a national coalition that convinced Congress to create the National Commission on Children and Disasters and was appointed to the Commission by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV). He was elected chairperson by his fellow commissioners and served in that role for the life of the Commission (2008-2011).

He was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2002. In 1988, Mr. Shriver founded the innovative Choice Program, which serves delinquent and at-risk youth through intensive, community-based counseling. Mr. Shriver subsequently created The Choice Jobs Program, Inc., a private non-profit that trains, places and supports former Choice clients in jobs, as well as The Choice Middle Schools Program, a model for keeping at-risk middle school children in school.

Mr. Shriver received his B.A. from The College of the Holy Cross in 1986 and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1993. He has written a memoir called “A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver” which will be published in June 2012 by Henry Holt. Mr. Shriver resides in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife, Jeanne, and their three children, Molly, Tommy and Emma.

As part of its commitment to support meaningful philanthropies dealing with issues affecting mothers, fathers and children, the National Father’s Day/Mother’s Day Council, Inc. has donated more than $32 million to date to meaningful charities nationwide.

Source: www.looktothestars.org