And the winner is ...

Well, we recently finished the first round of Hollywood's self-congratulations season, with the Screen Actors Guild (S.A.G.) Awards, The Golden Globes, and the People's Choice Awards. There are still a few more to come, including the Academy Awards and the Emmy's, but personally, I'm not a big fan of these awards or the several hour shows that occupy major network coverage. Luckily, there's cable, so I didn't have to sit through a whole evening watching awards for movies I didn't even see! After all, aren't the bloated paychecks and adoration of millions of fans sufficient for these people? Perhaps not.

Regardless, since 2002, there have been two awards for people with diabetes which you may have heard about, but perhaps weren't aware of how they were chosen. These awards have had relatively limited awareness, and its not clear how competitive the nomination process is because they're still relatively new. But I'd like the Diabetes OC community to be aware of these awards so we can increase the level of competition and make these awards much better known within the diabetes community. Here's the lowdown so you can actually nominate people who you think actually deserve an award:


Lilly for Life Lifetime Achievement Award
Established by Eli Lilly and Company in 2002, the LillyforLife Achievement Awards is a recognition program that celebrates the inspiring achievements of people of all ages who live with diabetes or who contribute to the lives of those with diabetes. Those recognized do not have to be well known or famous for their achievements, but can be everyday people who have accomplished or are working toward exceptional personal or professional success. For each winner selected, a $1,500 cash prize will be awarded. Additionally, each winner and a guest will be hosted at Lilly Headquarters in Indianapolis for a tour and VIP celebration, and will also receive an etched trophy. The deadline for applications is July 31, 2007. Winners will be notified no later than August 31, 2007. Award recipients will be announced publicly in August and posted on www.LillyforLife.com soon thereafter.

Novo Nordisk Media Prize Awards
As a world leader in diabetes care, Novo Nordisk is committed to increasing the level of awareness of diabetes. The media have a critically important role in informing the public about the disease. Therefore Novo Nordisk founded the Novo Nordisk Media Prize for excellence in writing on diabetes in the lay press in 2002. The award is given to the best written article on diabetes in general and is evaluated by a totally independent international jury. The article and TV feature must be about diabetes (treatment, products, health issues and so on), be published or broadcast in lay press, and communicate about diabetes in an interesting, appealing and factually correct way. Each winning contribution in the international contest receives a cash prize of 10,000 euros. I'm not sure about when the Novo Nordisk Media Prize Awards are selected, but its not too soon to think about who you'd like to nominate. Typically, the awards are announced by the company towards the end of the year.

Perhaps in the future, these awards will receive online media coverage, like on YouTube? Let's make the 2007 awards much bigger and much more competitive!!