Contact:
Renee Brehio
The CFIDS Association of America
704-364-0466

LOCAL HEALTH CARE CEO HONORED WITH REDBOOK MAGAZINE AWARD

Charlotte, NC - K. Kimberly Kenney, President and CEO of The Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) Association of America, the largest and most active charitable organization in the world dedicated to conquering CFIDS, has been named one of the winners of Redbook Magazine’s fourth annual Mothers and Shakers awards. This year’s awards will honor women who have made a difference in health care.

The Redbook awards are highly selective--only 12 individuals have been chosen by the magazine’s editors from a large field of candidates. Ms. Kenney is being honored for her work on behalf of persons with CFIDS (PWCs).

The awards will be presented at the Lincoln Center in New York City on September 10, 2001. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sarah Ferguson, duchess of York and Christy Turlington will be among the celebrity honorees. The October issue of Redbook will feature an article profiling each of the award winners.

Ms. Kenney has led efforts to secure a dedicated and effective response from the federal government to CFIDS, and played a key role in bringing the misuse of CFIDS research money by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to light, which resulted in a public apology to the patient community and restoration of $12.9 million in misspent funds. She has also initiated research, education, and public relations programs that have helped raise the profile of CFIDS as a real medical condition.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a native of upstate New York, Ms. Kenney has served as President and CEO of The CFIDS Association for the past 10 years. She lives in Charlotte, N.C. with her two children.

The CFIDS Association of America is a public, non-profit organization that directly funds CFIDS research and advocacy and acts as an information clearinghouse on the illness. Since 1987, The CFIDS Association of America has invested nearly $12 million in education, public policy and research programs in its efforts to bring an end to the suffering caused by CFIDS.

More than 800,000 Americans suffer from CFIDS, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). CFIDS is a debilitating and complex disorder characterized by profound fatigue, pain and cognitive problems. For more information about CFIDS, call 1-800-442-3437 or visit www.cfids.org.