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University Honors H-E-B as Outstanding Corporate Partner
Eight companies nominated for supporting UT Health Science Center as vendors, donors or clients
The H. E. Butt Grocery Company, a long-time supporter of the university, received the first Outstanding Corporate Partner Award from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Senior Executive Vice President Michael McKinney, M.D., presents the Outstanding Corporate Partner Award from the UT Health Science Center at Houston to Winell Herron, center, H-E-B’s group vice president of public affairs and diversity, and Holly Montalbano, H-E-B director of public affairs. Photo by Nancy Hudgins
Michael McKinney, M.D., senior executive vice president and chief operating officer, announced the winner Sept. 14 at the health science center’s second annual Corporate Appreciation Breakfast at the Briar Club. The breakfast recognizes companies that support the health science center as vendors, donors or clients, and reminds them of how their support impacts the university.
“H-E-B is a good corporate citizen for all of Texas,” McKinney said.
The company contributed the largest corporate gift ever received by the health science center, given to the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases (IMM).
H-E-B funded creation of the H-E-B Fellowships in Childhood Immunizations, a pioneering partnership between the UT School of Public Health and the City of Houston Department of Health and Human Services, to improve the immunization rate in the greater Houston area and to train the next generation of public health professionals.
H-E-B also has partnered with the UT Dental Branch at Houston and the UT School of Nursing at Houston to assist students and provide services to Houston residents.
In accepting the award on behalf of H-E-B Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles C. Butt, H-E-B Group Vice President of Public Affairs and Diversity Winell Herron pointed to the reciprocity of the relationship. “We are proud to receive this special recognition,” Herron said, “and we are appreciative of the health benefits the UT Health Science Center at Houston provides to the community. Keep up the great work!”
H-E-B was selected from a group of eight nominees, each recommended by health science center employees:
A-dec, one of the world’s largest dental equipment manufacturers, has partnered with the Dental Branch for more than 20 years and provides expert consultation and clinical design at no cost to the school.
Alpha Delta Phi, a professional women’s philanthropic organization, has long been involved with the UT Harris County Psychiatric Center. Each holiday season members donate more than 250 gift bags to the center’s patients, a project which has grown each year since its inception in the early 1990s.
Daiichi Pharmaceutical has for the past eight years provided financial support for grand rounds and residency educational programs in the Department of Otolaryngology (Head and Neck Surgery) of the UT Medical School at Houston.
The IMM also benefited from the generosity of nominee JPMorgan Chase Bank, which provided a lead corporate gift for the institute’s new building. JPMorgan Chase also has funded the university’s student scholarship golf tournament, cancer research at the Medical School, and the PARTNERS luncheon to endow nursing scholarships.
Stryker Leibinger, a global medical products and services company, has backed the Department of Otolaryngology, providing direct support for academic speakers of the faculty’s choosing.
Following the devastation of Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, Vaughn Construction responded immediately with its expertise and equipment to mitigate damage to health science center buildings and begin renovation. Vaughn Construction also participates in student scholarship events and helps to underwrite historic signature events for university groundbreakings and grand openings.
Verizon Communications Inc. has taken a special role in the university’s Reach Out and Read Texas program. Verizon funding has made books and training available in 19 Reach Out and Read Texas communities, demonstrating the company’s commitment to early literacy promotion and the benefits of a more literate workforce.
During the corporate appreciation event, the university’s involvement in the citywide response to the thousands of evacuees displaced by Hurricane Katrina was fresh on the minds of guests. Several of the physicians present gave firsthand accounts of activities at the many Houston-area shelters and clinics.
Of the thousands of volunteers working at the clinic and shelter established in the George R. Brown Convention Center, McKinney said, “I have never been prouder of the university and the city.”
Before breakfast was served, representatives from schools and administrative departments answered questions and handed out information as guests arrived. Personnel from UT Physicians, the university’s faculty group practice, offered guests complimentary blood pressure and glucose screenings.
The event was emceed by Jerre Iversen, vice president for development, and hosted by the Corporate Relations Council. “Thank you for being our partners,” Iversen said, “in our adventures and our ventures.”
By Christopher Mattsson