INSIDE OKDHS - RED TIE NIGHT, APRIL 2012

(MUSIC PLAYS) 

No Audio: Mary Deane Striech, President Board of Directors Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund

Mary Striech: Red Tie Night is a great, fun evening with lots of people attending. We usually have about 800. The reason we do it is as a fundraiser for... that we award grants to AIDS agencies in the community. We usually give away about $600-650,000 per year. That is from the proceeds of Red Tie Night.

No Audio:  David Odle, Programs Manager AIDS Coordination and Information Services, OKDHS. Richard May Award Recipient

David Odle: The Oklahoma Aids Care Fund just celebrated it's 20th year at Red Tie. I started in HIV 22 years ago as a volunteer. Professionally, I've been in this field for 18 years. 

Mary Striech: Red Tie Night has raised over $7 million in the last 20 years. So, it's a big event. It's the biggest single-night fundraiser in the state. 

David Odle: My history with the Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund has always been strictly professional. I initially got involved in HIV when I was taking some classes at a local university in the town that I lived in. Just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, one of our beloved professors - a funny, motivating educator - became ill and was hospitalized. When we returned from Thanksgiving Break we were informed that he passed away. 

And for the very first time that was very confronting for me. It was my disease and not someone else's because he and I were the same age. I had never been around HIV before that. It was a pointed moment for me and a moment that became the catalyst of getting involved in HIV. And I started working in HIV as a volunteer initially. 

A couple of years following that is when the AIDS Care Fund came into being. It was a time when there weren't a lot of services and it was an important piece of the puzzle because they filled in the gaps where people needed help paying for prescriptions or accessing transportation or getting into medical care, that sort of thing. And so, my relationship with the Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund has been from that perspective in case management - working with them when there weren't resources for a client. 

Maybe they had a special need that there wasn't anything to pay for that need and going to the AIDS Care Fund and working with them through their Emergency Fund Program. 

Mary Striech: Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund started in 1992. Barbara Cooper and her husband Jackie started it and they had seven people that helped them. Richard May was one of those people who was one of the founders. And, this is an award named after Richard. The recipient of the award is nominated by peers - someone who is working with them or volunteering with them. The nomination is given to the board of the AIDS Care Fund and we select from a large group of nominees. That person is the honoree for that year. 

David Odle: When they called, I really didn't know what to say. I was speechless when they called me that evening and so humbled to be considered among the ranks of the previous recipients, people who I admire and respect, many of whom have been a mentor to me. 

Mary Striech: The importance of the Richard May Award is to honor a single person who has done and given a lot of their time and their experience to help people living with AIDS. It is an award that this is the 17th one that we've given away and after Richard May passed away we decided to have this award annually to be given at the Red Tie Night.

No Audio: David Odle, giving his acceptance speech at the Red Tie Night ceremony. 

David Odle: Thank you, Mary, Oklahoma Aids Care Fund Officers and Board of Directors. I am incredibly honored and truly humbled to be here tonight receiving the Richard May Award. It is an even greater honor to be placed in such ranks as the previous recipients, many who have been mentors to me and for whom I have the greatest respect and admiration. Individuals who, in the spirit of Richard May, have been motivated by their passion, 
a love of justice and tremendous compassion for humanity. 

No Audio: Mary Striech giving a speech at the Red Tie Night ceremony.

Mary Striech: David has a true passion for the work he does in HIV/AIDS. David works towards helping lower the number of new HIV/AIDS cases in Oklahoma and helping those living with HIV through services in all 77 counties. David is the statewide AIDS Coordinator and Information Services Coordinator for the Department of Human Services. He has worked in the field for more than 20 years in both the public and the private capacity. 

Mary Striech (continues): He is very caring. Doing his work with AIDS is a passion for him. He believes in what he does. He works very hard at it both as a volunteer and as an employee. I just think he's perfect for this award; he's got the right qualifications. 

David Odle: I believe we all have a purpose, and I believe that will all of my heart, and more importantly that we can know what that purpose is. When we live our lives in the center of our purpose, we develop a passion for what we do. For myself it's helping other people live to their potential, whatever that potential might be. Whether they are co-workers or clients who are ill, my focus is to help them reach their maximum potential and have the greatest fulfilling life that they can have. That's where my passion comes from. I love what I do, and this isn't just a job for me; it is a calling for me. 

I am privileged to lead a team of incredible people who do extraordinary things each day. In January of 2010 a new project to create a stronger continuum of care targeting high-risk populations began. The project includes the collaboration of community services, HIV testing, mental health services and HIV-specific case management. It is a model that focuses on people. When someone receives a positive HIV test, the tester introduces the client to a case manager strengthening their support system and walking them through a complex system of care. To date, of those testing and going through this model 100% have either entered care or have pending medical appointments. This project, and other projects like it, would not be possible without the foundational support of the Oklahoma AIDS Care Fund and the generosity of each of you here this evening. 

It's all client-focused and client-driven. What we do is we provide comprehensive, psycho-social medical case management for individuals living with HIV and for their families. So, we can work with someone who is either infected or affected. I have found that there are two important things in life: having a genuine interest in people and being kind to them. Kindness, I have discovered, is everything in life. Thank you so much for this honor.