Gala for Life Sept. 16 to Benefit UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
| LITTLE ROCK – The 16th annual Gala for Life, benefiting the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), is scheduled for Sept. 16 at the Statehouse Convention Center.
The event will honor Arkansas philanthropists Frank Hickingbotham and Susan and Herren Hickingbotham with the Pat and Willard Walker Tribute Award for their longtime support of the Cancer Institute.
The gala is set for 6 p.m. and will include a cocktail reception, dinner, dancing and a live performance by Kool & the Gang, known for their hits including “Celebration” and “Joanna.”
Tables of 10 start at $5,000; individual tickets are $500 per person. For information about the event or to make a reservation, contact Jeanette Shack at the Cancer Institute Foundation at (501) 526-2277.
As a charter member of the Cancer Institute’s board of directors, Frank Hickingbotham was instrumental in developing the institute’s mission in its early years. The second floor in the institute’s original Walker Tower is named the Frank D. Hickingbotham Floor in honor of his support.
A member of the Cancer Institute Foundation Fund’s board of directors, Herren Hickingbotham is active in many roles, including co-chairing the 2008 Gala for Life with his wife, Susan. He also co-chaired the Cancer Institute’s RockStar Lounge event in 2010.
The Gala for Life is organized by the Cancer Institute Foundation Fund’s board of directors. Jonnie and Kent Westbrook, M.D., are honorary chairs; Christy and William Clark are the event co-chairs.
The Cancer Institute is Arkansas’ only academic cancer research center. The institute sees more than 120,000 patient visits each year from every Arkansas county, all 50 states and more than 40 countries.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Related Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a 540,000-square-foot hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,836 students and 761 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including nearly 1,150 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.