Shadyac Retires As ALSAC/St. Jude CEO

MEMPHIS, Tenn., June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Richard C. Shadyac will step down as Chief Executive Officer for ALSAC, the fund-raising arm of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, June 30th. Shadyac has led ALSAC, currently the nation's third largest health-care charity, for 13 years.

Shadyac was appointed by the ALSAC/St. Jude Board to the position of CEO in 1992. He had served on the ALSAC/St. Jude Board of Directors and Governors for nearly 30 years and as General Counsel before assuming the job of running the fund-raising organization full time. He was also a close friend of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas'.

Shadyac helped stabilize ALSAC and St. Jude after the death of Thomas in 1991. And during his tenure as CEO he made a number of strategic decisions that shaped the organization, including creating Gift Planning and Donor Services Departments, reorganizing the Direct Mail and Television programs and energizing the Country Cares for St. Jude Kids national radio program. He also was instrumental in establishing affiliate institutions in Ireland, Jordan, Chile and Lebanon, ancestral home of Danny Thomas and many members of the ALSAC/St. Jude Board.

Shadyac played a major role in the growth of St. Jude during the past decade, which included a $1 billion expansion of hospital services and infrastructure. Public support for St. Jude increased from around $100 million a year in 1992 to over $400 million during Shadyac's tenure. Today, running the hospital research and clinical care efforts costs over $1 million a day.

While serving as CEO, Shadyac was honored with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for exceptional humanitarian efforts and outstanding contributions to the United States. Prior to taking the job as CEO, he was a trial lawyer for the Department of Justice and then an attorney in a successful private practice for over 40 years in the Washington D.C. area.

"Dick Shadyac is one of the giants of our institution," said Talat Othman, Chairman of the ALSAC Board of Directors. "Dick has an impressive record as CEO, but even more important he has left an impressive legacy -- a deep and abiding love for the children of St. Jude. His leadership and passion will be sorely missed."

William E. Evans, Director and CEO of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, said Shadyac always did what it took to support the mission of St. Jude. "Dick was always there for us, doing what was necessary to ensure we had the resources and the capability of providing unsurpassed patient care and world-class research on childhood catastrophic diseases. He never lost his focus -- it was always on the children."

On July 1st, John Moses, a prominent attorney from Wilkes-Barre, PA, will take over as ALSAC CEO. Moses has previously served as Chair of the ALSAC Board of Directors and as Chair of the St. Jude Board of Governors.

"I am excited about taking over as CEO of ALSAC," Moses said, "but I know I will be trying to fill big shoes. I will succeed Dick Shadyac, but no one can replace him."

"I hope people will think I did a good job," said Shadyac. "Most of all, I want them to remember how much I loved the children. If ALSAC and St. Jude stay focused on the children, the American people will continue to support our founder Danny Thomas' dream that "no child die in the dawn of life."

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays St. Jude for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fund-raising organization. For more information, please visit http://www.stjude.org .

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

CONTACT: George Shadroui of ALSAC-St. Jude, +1-901-578-2330, orgeorge.shadroui@stjude.org

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