Distinguished National Leadership Awards were presented to Bryant, chairman of the board; Robertson, the association’s president; and Warfel, the secretary-treasurer at the association’s annual Delegate Assembly in June.
Bryant, a shareholder in the law firm of Feld, Hyde, Lyle, Wertheimer & Bryant, P.C., in Birmingham, Ala., became involved in the association in 1982. He served as chair of the Alabama Affiliate from 1994-1996, and continues to serve on the board of the Southeast Affiliate, which includes Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Bryant has served at the national level on the association’s board of directors since 1997. He has been chairperson of the audit review committee and the corporate relations review committee. He also served on the advocacy coordinating committee and the corporate operations coordinating committee. In his role as chief volunteer executive officer, Bryant presided over meetings of the board of directors and administrative cabinet, overseeing administration of all the association’s affairs.
Robertson is professor of medicine and vice chair for Academic Affairs in the department of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn. She first became involved with the association in the 1970s at the Middle Tennessee Chapter. In 1989, she was elected president of the Tennessee Affiliate, which is now part of the association’s Southeast Affiliate.
During her involvement with the American Heart Association, Robertson has been a member of numerous scientific councils, including the councils on basic science and circulation and high blood pressure research. She was named to the American Heart Association Board of Directors in 1994, has chaired the committee on scientific sessions program, the program and projects budget review subcommittee, and the scientific sessions 21st century task force. During her term as association president, Robertson played an important role in establishing a strategic alliance with federal health agencies and Healthy People 2010, resulting in the historic signing of the Memorandum of Understanding. She was recently honored as a “Partner in Public Health” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Warfel is vice chairman of the James B. Oswald Company in Cleveland, Ohio, serving as president from 1980 to 1996. He has been a volunteer for the American Heart Association for more than 10 years, serving at the community, affiliate and national levels. He has chaired numerous local task forces and served as chair of the Ohio Valley Affiliate. He is a member of the corporate operations coordinating committee and served as a member of the lobbying task force in 1999. He is now serving as the chair of the association’s insurance task force at the national level.
The American Heart Association spent about $337 million during fiscal year 1999-2000 on research support, public and professional education, and community programs. Nationwide, the organization has grown to include more than 22.5 million volunteers and supporters who carry out its mission in communities across the country. The association is the largest nonprofit voluntary health organization fighting heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, which kill about 950,000 Americans every year.