Celebrating 30 Years of Heroes in Health with Kevin Rigby

Show Notes

On September 26th, the Alliance for Aging Research will be celebrating our landmark 30th annual Heroes in Health Awards Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington DC. In anticipation of this historic evening, we’re joined by our master of ceremonies, Kevin Rigby, to discuss our honorees, favorite moments, and a few Heroes In Health fun facts that may surprise you!

Episode Transcript

Matt Thompson:

Welcome to This is Growing Old, the podcast all about the common human experience of aging. My name is Matt, and I’ll be your host. This year marks the 30th annual Heroes in Health Celebration. That’s 30 years of honoring trailblazing advocates, making great strides to further access and equity for older adults. As we approach our landmark dinner on September 26th, we look forward to hosting the clinicians, caretakers, patient advocates, and pioneers who drive change and inspire the work that we do. Speaking of hosts, returning to the show is none other than our master of ceremonies, Kevin Rigby. Kevin is a fierce advocate for aging Americans and an ally to civic and philanthropic causes across the country. Kevin’s long career traverses the public and private sector, including serving as the Alliance’s vice chair. He currently provides strategic solutions to patient advocacy groups and organizations at Rigby Consulting. Kevin, thanks for joining us.

Kevin Rigby:

You’re welcome.

Matt Thompson:

So it’s hard to believe we’ve been honoring our Heroes in Health for 30 years now. Even further, our annual awards dinner has only gotten bigger and better each year. So tell us what’s the secret.

Kevin Rigby:

Well, I feel a little guilty giving up the secret sauce as to why our dinners are so successful, but I believe it’s due to three reasons. The primary reason attendance is consistently so high, I believe it’s because of the strong support of the Alliance mission to accelerate the pace of scientific discoveries for the aging and to express their appreciation of the many valuable events, forums, and podcasts undertaken by the Alliance. But for example, the Alliance just won two Golden Tele Awards for their educational videos.

The second reason I think that dinners are so successful is that they’re proceeded with captivating panel discussions normally with leaders from the FDA and CMS where attendees, they have the opportunity to ask questions, they get to hear the critical issues being discussed by leaders in our healthcare industry. And of course as they leave, they have opportunity to interact with those leaders. And I think the third reasons that the dinners are so successful is the opportunity to meet and network. Networking is invaluable in our industry, to talk to not only our colleagues, but also the healthcare officials from the administration, Congress and patient groups, all are present at the dinner. And this year, it’s going to be held at the historical landmark Waldorf Astoria, which should make it even more enjoyable.

Matt Thompson:

Well put. So this year’s theme is integrity, collaboration, and healthy aging. Can you tell us a bit about what that means to you?

“…what is most powerful is at the end of the evening, I look out at the audience and I see as they leave, as they’re walking out, everyone is energized by the speakers. And it really gives me so much energy to think that now they have a renewed commitment to the mission…”

Kevin Rigby:

Well, as a former board member of the Alliance and a true strong supporter and believer, I’ve seen firsthand how effective the Alliance is in both convening and joining prominent coalitions to address critical issues and to improve the experience of aging. The Alliance understands the power of collaborating with other organizations and experts to speed the development of cures for aging, to lower out-of-pocket drug costs and to improve clinical care for older adults. The work of the Alliance and their numerous partnerships are so important because our population is reaching 65 at an unprecedented rate. As pointed out by Dan Perry, who’s the founder and good friend of mine from the Alliance of Aging Research, this growing population is a name he coined the silver tsunami, which makes it even more important that we collaborate and work together in supporting healthy aging. And for me, so what does healthy aging mean? I think that my definition would be the ability to live a full, an independent life, both physically and mentally so that I can have more memories with loved ones.

Matt Thompson:

That’s amazing. So you’re no stranger to our awards dinner. In your 10 years as the host of Heroes in Health, it’s safe to say that you’ve seen it all. What are a few of your favorite moments and is there anything that you’re looking forward to at this year’s dinner?

“…our dinner has that kind of profound impact, the energy we need for each and every day to continue our fight to make the world better for seniors…”

Kevin Rigby:

Well, I suspect many of you will think I’m going to highlight one of the distinguished speakers and honorees that spoke at our dinner or perhaps one of the emotional stories that we heard that really talked about how these scientific discoveries changed their life, allow them to be with someone they’ve loved longer and have more memories. But to me, what is most powerful is at the end of the evening, I look out at the audience and I see as they leave, as they’re walking out, everyone is energized by the speakers. And it really gives me so much energy to think that now they have a renewed commitment to the mission to discover future innovative medicines so that seniors of which I am and so many will be can live healthier, longer and happier lives. I have no doubt that our dinner has that kind of profound impact, the energy we need for each and every day to continue our fight to make the world better for seniors.

But on a much lighter note, I have to be shameless here and I admit that what I look forward to, now first of all, the venues. We’re going to be at the Waldorf Astoria. Not a place I normally go to, but they have outstanding wine and food and they have the renowned Waldorf Astoria red velvet cake, which I highly recommend. I’m also looking forward to the trivia polls. We have a lot of fun trivia polls. It’s just interesting to see how we respond and think that what are the latest issues and solutions to them. And perhaps most importantly, what I’m looking forward to this year is a live audience. During COVID, it just wasn’t the same. You’re speaking to a monitor, there was no energy. But seeing you all in person, that’s what’s going to excite me with this upcoming meeting.

Matt Thompson:

I love it. And I can already taste that red velvet cake. So speaking of history, our honorees, the Alliance has a long history of recognizing individuals who have worked tirelessly to better the lives of older adults through their work. We counted down and revealed their names last week. Can you tell us a little bit about our honorees this year?

Kevin Rigby:

Sure. I’d be glad to. Each and every year you say, how do we get better honorees? How do we find them? And what’s fascinating to me is one year they’re better than the next. And so this year we have really an impressive list of honorees. The first being Congresswoman Anna Eshoo from California. She’ll be the recipient of the Claude Pepper Award for Advancing Healthy Aging. For over two decades in Congress, Congresswoman Eshoo promoted American innovation. She fought for access to healthcare for families and children. And in 2019 was the first woman to serve as Chair of the Health Subcommittee in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Next, we’re going to have Congressman Brad Wenstrup from Ohio. He’ll be the recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Award. He was elected in 2012. And so what’s his experience? Well, it’s incredible. He brings experience as a doctor, army reserve officer, Iraq War veteran, small business owner, to tackle the economic and security challenges facing our nation.

Congressman Wenstrup serves as the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. Can you imagine anything more important than that? As well as the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence where he works to address national health issues and our national security. We’re also going to have the very impressive Dr. Henry Buchwald. He’ll be the recipient of the Silver Innovator Award. Dr. Buchwald is the professor of surgery and biomedical engineering at the Owen H and Sarah Davidson Wangensteen Chair in Experimental Surgery at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Buchwald, he’s a pioneer in bariatric surgery. He holds 20 patents for bioengineering devices. He’s an author of over 360 peer-reviewed medical publications, an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, and a recipient of numerous national awards for his work and his writings. Next we have Dr. Chad Worz. He’s going to be the recipient of the Daniel Perry Founder’s Award.

Dr. Worz is a board-certified geriatric pharmacist and he’s also the Chief Executive of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, which is the only international professional society devoted to medication management and improved health outcomes for older persons. Dr. Worz established a nationwide geriatric based pharmacist consultant company. And the purpose of that company is to educate and provide medication management services to nursing facility residents and administration, as well as to long-term pharmacies in public. And finally, but not least, Edwin Walker. He’s going to be the recipient of the Perennial Hero Award. As the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging of the Administration on Aging, Mr. Walker serves as the Chief Career Official for the federal agency, responsible for advocating on behalf of older Americans. Bringing over 30 years of service, Mr. Walker guides and promotes the development of home and community-based long-term care programs and policies and services designed to afford older people and their caregivers the ability to age with dignity independence. I really am looking forward to hearing and seeing these impressive individuals.

Matt Thompson:

That’s amazing. And we really can’t wait to celebrate these incredible advocates in person. So if I remember correctly, you helped develop an elevator pitch for the Alliance a few years ago. What do you think people need to know about the Alliance today?

Kevin Rigby:

Well, this is true, and I’ve always challenged them to say, you do such wonderful things, how do you capitalize that so it’s pithy, so that people can hear it and understand it and be advocates on behalf of the Alliance. So here it goes, for at least my newest attempt at something that I think is a elevator speech when they meet somebody. The Alliance for Aging Research is a highly effective, credible and influential organization who over 30 years has led the fight to accelerate the pace of scientific discoveries for aging research and for policies that ensure access to medicines for seniors when they need them. Join the Alliance today so that together we can ensure our loved ones can live longer, healthier, happier, and more productive lives. And if I was giving it right now, I would say and add this, and do not miss this Heroes in Health 30th Anniversary Celebration. This will be the best one yet. You have to be there and I look forward to seeing all of you.

Matt Thompson:

I couldn’t have said it better myself. So I want to thank you again, Kevin, for chatting with us. Another thanks to our audience for listening to This is Growing Old. Once again, our 30th annual Heroes and Health Celebration will be held in person on Tuesday on September 26th at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, DC. To learn more about the event, our theme and our honorees, please visit us at agingresearch.org. And thanks to everyone for joining us today. Have a great day. Thanks, Kevin.

Kevin Rigby:

Thank you.