1. sports
2. basketball

Sir Charles is back — this time with Shaq.
We are deeply grateful to our Honorary Chair, Charles Barkley, to his special guest, Shaquille O’Neal, and to
our Host Committee Chairs and Members for making so many wins possible for the UAB Minority Health and
Research Center and – most important – for the people we serve through education and outreach efforts.
HONORARY
CHAIR
Charles
Barkley
LaJuana Bradford
Dr. Carol Z. Garrison
Dr. Eli I. Capilouto
Charcey Glenn
wachovia
UAB
SPECIAL
GUEST
Shaquille
O’Neal
Brad Rollow
viva health
bradley arant rose
& white
Eugenia Carlo
Ron Green
merrill lynch
Isabel Rubio
hispanic interest
coalition of alabama
Myla Calhoun Choy
Felyicia Jerald
Dr. Johnny W. Scott
community volunteer
Kate Cotton*
protective life
corporation
mercedes-benz
u.s. international
Dr. Keith A. Jones
UAB department
of radiology
Terri Sewell
Carol Z. Garrison
Dr. Shirley Salloway Kahn
Audra Smith
Invocation
Praise Dancers, Macedonia Baptist Church of Leeds
UAB
uab lady blazers
The Hon. Artur Davis
Ann D. McMillan
community volunteer
Mary Ann Smith-Jones
marketry, inc.
Gerald L. Johnson
Mike Davis
UAB blazer basketball
Dr. Edward E. Partridge
uab minority health
& research center
Dr. Sharon Spencer
uab department of
radiation oncology
HOST COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Dr. Edward Abraham
Norman B. Davis, Jr.*
uab department
of medicine
first american bank
Beatriz Arciniegas
Dr. Mona N. Fouad
community volunteer
Anthony L. Barnes
anthony l. barnes
and associates
Dr. Kirby I. Bland
uab department
of surgery
President, The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dinner
u.s. house of
representatives
alabama power
company
Welcome
Gerald L. Johnson, Alabama Power Company
Michelle Clemon, McWane, Inc.
Theresa H. Bruno, Community Volunteer
Gala Co-Chairs
Remarks
Michelle Clemon
mcwane, inc.
OPENINGLinda Mays, ABC 33/40
Mistress of Ceremonies
maynard cooper
& gale pc
community volunteer
strategic media
relations inc.
7:30 p.m.Program and Dinner
UAB department
of anesthesiology
Theresa H. Bruno
Malena Cunningham
September 28, 2007
Cahaba Grand Conference Center
Jim Rotch
the charles barkley
foundation
u.s. piPE and foundary
HOST COMMITTEE CHAIRS
uab
The Third Annual
UAB Minority Health & Research Center Gala
UAB minority health
& research center
Dr. Geroge T. French, Jr.
Miles college
Cathy O. Friedman
city paper company
Curtis Pickens
at&t/bellsouth
Dudley C. Reynolds*
alagasco
Dr. Robert R. Rich
uab school of medicine
Remarks
Dr. Mona N. Fouad
Director, UAB Minority Health and Research Center
Awards Presentation
Dr. Edward E. Partridge
Co-Director, UAB Minority Health and Research Center
Yolanda N. Sullivan*
vulcan materials
company
Introduction ofErnie Johnson, Jr.
Honorary Chair
Sports Anchor, Turner Broadcasting
mineral district
medical society
Dr. Norman W. Walton, III
Remarks
Charles Barkley
Odessa Woolfolk
Remarks
Shaquille O’Neal
Closing Theresa H. Bruno
Gala Co-Chair
birmingham civil
rights institute
The Hon. John Rochester
circuit judge,
clay county
Video presentation
*Past Co-chair
Honorary Chair
Special Guest
HONORARY CHAIR
Charles Barkley
Special Guest
Shaquille O’Neal
Special Guest
Ernie Johnson, Jr.
The UAB Minority Health and
Research Center
When the conversation turns to Charles Barkley,
many people think first of the always entertaining, sometimes outrageous running commentary on basketball
and life he provided throughout his celebrated 16-year
NBA career, and continues to provide through his books,
television appearances and speeches around the country.
But at UAB, Charles Barkley is best known for his
commitment to the Minority Health and Research Center, and for his support of UAB’s efforts to help treat
and prevent disease among Alabama’s minority citizens
through education, research and community outreach.
In 2003, he accepted an invitation to speak at the
first UAB MHRC conference, “Equal Care, Equal Outcomes,” at which the MHRC mission of understanding
and reducing heath disparities came in to clear focus.
In 2004, he established the Charles Barkley Health
Disparities Fund at UAB, from which grants are made to
rising young UAB faculty – physicians, scientists, public
health professionals and others – to support their research related to the prevalence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer and other conditions
that disproportionately affect minorities.
Generous with his time as well as his money, Barkley remains a steadfast friend to the UAB MHRC, inspiring others to join him in this important effort.
Five things you may not know about Shaquille
O’Neal:
1. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Louisiana State University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.
Ernie Johnson, Jr., enters his 18th year as studio
host for Turner Sports’ 2007-08 NBA telecasts. He hosts
TNT’s Emmy award-winning Inside the NBA with regular
analysts Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, and guest
analysts Magic Johnson and Reggie Miller. Inside the
NBA follows TNT’s exclusive Thursday night NBA
coverage each week throughout the regular season, as
well as for 40 Games in 40 Nights during the Playoffs.
He has hosted coverage of a wide range of sports
for TNT – including football, golf, the Goodwill Games,
tennis at Wimbledon and the Winter Olympics – since
joining the staff in 1989. From 1993 to 1996, he called
Atlanta Braves games on SportSouth with his dad, Ernie
Johnson, Sr..
A graduate of Henry Grady School of Journalism at
the University of Georgia, he was named Outstanding
Young Alumnus in 1986. He is the recipient of numerous awards, most notably the 2006 and 2001 Sports Emmys for Best Studio Host/Personality, as well as the 1989
Georgia-area Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement-Television News Excellence/Sports Reporting.
In 2007 Johnson was presented with the first ever
honorary “John Wooden Keys to Life Award,” presented
by Athletes in Action to sports figures who exemplify
outstanding character.
The UAB Minority Health and Research Center is a
comprehensive research, training, and community-outreach center dedicated to eliminating health disparities
among racial and ethnic populations. Founded in 2002
by Director Mona Fouad, MD, MPH and Co-Director Edward E. Partridge, MD, the MHRC has gained national
recognition by the National Center on Minority Health
and Health Disparities, part of the National Institutes
of Health, as a model center for the creation and growth
of similar programs nationwide. The MHRC leadership
has also been recognized with the Sullivan Best Practice
Award for Excellence in Overcoming Disparities and with
the American Medical Association’s Award of Excellence
in Eliminating Health Disparities.
Under the mission of Building Trust, Sharing Power,
and Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Bias and Discrimination,
the UAB MHRC partners with grassroots organizations,
historically black colleges and universities, government
agencies, and investigators nationwide to eliminate disparities in health care experienced by racial and ethnic
minorities in the United States.
2. He has written three books, including his autobiography, Shaq Talks Back: The Uncensored Word
of My Life and Winning in the NBA, and a
children’s book, Shaq and the Beanstalk – and
Other Very Tall Tales.
3. An aspiring rapper, he has recorded four albums,
and owns a record label as well as his own clothing
line, TWISM (The World is Mine).
4. Though he clearly loves basketball, he would like to
be a sheriff or Chief of Police when he retires from
the game. He has worked for the Los Angeles and
Miami Beach Police Departments during off-seasons, and has been active with law enforcement programs promoting safe use of the Internet.
5. As one of the NBA’s most community-focused players, he has been a national spokesman for Reading
Is Fundamental, and was deeply involved in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. He sponsors two holiday
programs – “Shaqsgiving” and “Shaq-a-Claus” – for
needy children and their families.