A month doesn’t go by that I don’t see Rev. Ray Hammond, MD being honored by one organization or another. There’s something wrong with this picture and I propose a solution below. Here’s the latest honor for Rev. Hammond to arrive in my inbox:
Please join us for Health Care For All’s Annual Event
FOR THE PEOPLE
A Celebration of Health Care LeadersWednesday, May 14, 2008
The Westin Copley Place Boston
10 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02116Online Registration
For the People: A Celebration of Health Care Leaders will be held May 14th at the Westin Copley Place Boston. Dennis Keefe, Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge Health Alliance and the Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Cambridge, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. The President’s Award For Outstanding Leadership will be presented to two leaders in our community. Reverend Ray Hammond, M.D., M.A. is the Chairman and Co-Founder of the Ten Point Coalition. Janice B. Yost, Ed.D. is the founding President of The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts. Please join us as we celebrate these Health Care Leaders.
I’d love to know how many groups have bestowed honors on him in the past 12-month period. Great guy but he’s over-exposed and it draws attention away from less famous locals who also do great work. Somewhat the same issue with his wife, Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, MD, although less so. Could it be because the Reverend sits on the boards of major local foundations? Or is it because we have, like only 5 famous black people in Boston, (e.g. Hammond, Hubie Jones, Ralph Martin) who keep getting recycled and recycled in their roles as prominent black leaders?
Suggestion for Rev. Hammond:
Create a “Ray Hammond Honoree” initiative. Hold a moratorium on accepting new awards for yourself and instead, ask the organization to honor a lesser-known local who has never received recognition for his or her work and call this person the organization’s “Ray Hammond Honoree.” But… you agree to attend the event and present the award to the honoree. That would be a more valuable service to Boston, Rev. Hammond, than accepting award after award yourself.
Ray Hammond has been involved with health care issues in a very positive way for years. Should HCFA not recognize his work?
OK, he’s a good guy, But tell me: how many awards should one person accept in the course of a year? Is there no limit? I stand by “over-exposed,” or if you will, over-awarded.
neither more nor less. đŸ™‚
About the foundations…
This is not to say he’s not a great person, but each year non-profits strategize: who can we honor this year, who is both deserving and who will attract a crowd of heavy-hitters who will join the host committee and sponsor the event, allowing us to reach our $ goals? Voila! Ray Hammond! My point is that we should not keep honoring the same people as if only the already honored rich, powerful or famous merit honoring.