The Brain Aneurysm Foundation (BAF) celebrated its second annual Massachusetts Champion Awards at the UMass Club in Boston, MA. Award-winning journalist and WCVB Channel 5 Investigative Reporter Karen Anderson emceed the event. The Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the globally recognized leader in brain aneurysm awareness, education, support, advocacy, and research funding. The 2018 Champion Awards honored various members of the community who strive to educate others about the risks and symptoms of brain aneurysms.
Massachusetts Champion Award honorees include:
- Governor Charlie Baker, Community Advocate Champion Award
- The Boston Globe, accepted by Columnist Nestor Ramos, Media Champion Award
- Ajith Thomas, MD – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Physician Champion Award
- Kevan Miller – Boston Bruins, Volunteer Champion Award
- Tom Tinlin and Steven Triffletti, Survivor Champion Awards
“We are proud to honor so many great supporters of our organization,” said Christine Buckley, executive director of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. “It’s our goal to bring people together and raise awareness for a disease that affects one in 50 people in the United States, often leading to death or lifelong disabilities.” Last year, at an event at the State House, Governor Charlie Baker elevated the level of brain aneurysm awareness in the state by declaring September 2017 Brain Aneurysm Awareness month.
Brain aneurysm survivors Tom Tinlin, former Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Administrator, and Steven Triffletti, founder of Triffletti & Costa P.C., both graciously shared their harrowing stories of survival, as chronicled by Columnist Nestor Ramos and Globe Correspondent Robert Knox in The Boston Globe. Their stories serve as a reminder that brain aneurysms can happen to anyone with little to no warning. Both were treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Dr. Ajith Thomas of BIDMC and a member of BAF’s Medical Advisory Board, is being recognized for his tireless work to further research and treat brain aneurysm patients.
During the award ceremony, City of Boston Credit Union presented the BAF with a generous donation to continue the organization’s promotion of brain aneurysm awareness, education, support and research. This donation is made in honor of Tom Tinlin who is a long-time board member of the Credit Union.
Support of the honorees and fundraising efforts allows BAF to amplify its work to end the suffering of brain aneurysm disease for patients and their families.
ABOUT THE BRAIN ANEURYSM FOUNDATION
Founded in Boston and now based in Hanover, Massachusetts, the Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the globally recognized leader in brain aneurysm awareness, education, support, advocacy and research funding. The foundation’s mission is to provide information about and raise awareness of the symptoms and risk factors of brain aneurysms to prevent ruptures and subsequent death and disability; work with medical communities to provide support networks for patients and families; and advance research to improve patients’ outcomes and save lives. Established in 1994, the foundation is led by Executive Director Christine Buckley and has a Medical Advisory Board that comprises more than 30 of the nation’s foremost aneurysm experts — neurologists, neurosurgeons, interventional neuroradiologists and other brain aneurysm specialists — from the country’s leading hospitals and universities.
