PRESS RELEASE: DRISCOLL ANNOUNCES COMMITTEE MEMEBERS FOR 2006 FIESTA DE LOS NIÑOS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 11, 2005

MEDIA - FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Deborah Perry Phone (361) 442-4538
www.driscollchildrens.org

DRISCOLL ANNOUNCES COMMITTEE MEMBERS
FOR 2006 FIESTA DE LOS NIÑOS FUNDRAISER;
SONDRA TREDAWAY NAMED CHAIR

(Corpus Christi, TX) Driscoll Children’s Hospital announces the 2006 committee members coordinating the 3rd Annual Fiesta de los Niños. After only two years, the “Festival of the Children” fundraiser has quickly become a very successful event in the Rio Grande Valley and a major source of funding for Driscoll Children’s Specialty Clinic in McAllen, raising nearly $222,000. Clear Channel joins Driscoll as a radio partner this year.

Sondra Tredaway, Executive Vice President and Branch Manager at Texas State Bank in McAllen, was named Chairwoman for the event for a third year in a row.

Additional 2006 Fiesta de los Niños Committee members from various Rio Grande Valley communities include:

• Lloyd Baldwin (Baldwin Mobile Homes Sales, McAllen) - Chairman, Barbeque Committee
• Joe Brown (McAllen National Bank, McAllen) - Table Sales Committee
• Sonia S. Cano (IBOC, McAllen) - Table Sales Committee
• Rachel Cisneros (Valley Mortgage, McAllen) – Table Sales Committee
• Thomas Davidson (Texas State Bank, McAllen) - Chairman, Table Sales Committee
• Sylvia Gallegos (Texas State Bank, McAllen) – Table Sales Committee
• Rita Garcia (Texas State Bank, McAllen) - Silent Auction Committee
• Adela de la Garza (Lauren Yvana Ltd, McAllen) – Table Sales Committee
• Joel Gonzalez (Texas State Bank, San Juan) - Table Sales Committee
• Marina Gonzalez (Family Physicians Clinic, McAllen) - Table Sales Committee
• Laura Guerra Ramirez (Guerra Brothers Successors, Edinburgh) - Silent Auction Committee
• Stephanie Guerra (Guerra Brothers, Linn) - Silent Auction Committee
• Yolanda Guerra (R & Y Construction, Mission) – Table Sales Committee
• Jane Jansen (Texas State Bank, McAllen) - Chair, Decorations Committee
• Amy Johnson (Johnson Brothers Construction, McAllen) - Decorations Committee
• Hilda Lazos (Texas State Bank, McAllen) - Decorations Committee
• Jason Leal (Texas State Bank, McAllen) - Table Sales Committee
• Tanya and Shawn Moes (McAllen) - Silent Auction Committee
• Darrell Myska (Lone Star Barbeque, McAllen) - Barbeque Committee
• Joe Soto (Driscoll Children’s Hospital, Weslaco) - Chairman, Live Auction Committee
• Cody Sparks (Texas State Bank, McAllen) - Table Sales Committee
• Joann Tavarez (McAllen) - Silent Auction Committee
• Cathleen Tredaway (Tetra Fruit & Vegetable, LLC, Edinburgh) - Chairman, Silent Auction Committee

The 3rd Annual Fiesta de los Niños will be held on Friday, March 3, 2006 and at Villa Real Convention Center in McAllen. Entertainer is Tracy Byrd for the McAllen Fiesta de los Ninos. Tickets can be purchased by calling (956) 686-8642.

Money raised from this year’s Fiesta de los Niños will benefit Driscoll’s Children’s Specialty Center. Major future expansion plans surround the Driscoll Children's Specialty Center in McAllen, operating since April 2003. Outpatient surgery options are slated to be added. In addition, clinic space will be doubled for additional specialty services. Currently, Driscoll specialists fly from Corpus Christi to the Valley daily and treat patients during evaluative sessions and follow-up appointments, which are closer to home thus disrupting family and work life as little as possible. Major procedures and surgery are still done at the hospital's main campus in Corpus Christi. Pediatric specialists from the areas of cardiology, orthopaedics, endocrinology, plastic surgery, among others, see young patients Monday through Friday, but a wider variety of specialties will be added providing a more comprehensive pediatric healthcare experience. In addition, pediatric laboratory and radiology services were added to the clinic last year.

Driscoll Children's Hospital Logo
About Driscoll Children’s Hospital
“Improve the health of adults and you give them back their health …
Improve the health of children and you give them their life.”

Since opening its doors in 1953, Driscoll Children’s Hospital has been offering hope and healing to the children of South Texas for half a century. The facility is a 189-bed pediatric tertiary care center with pediatric board-certified specialists representing 19 medical and nine surgical specialties. Each year, more than 6,000 children are admitted for inpatient care, 5,000 for day surgery, and 50,000 for outpatient primary and specialty care, as well as 40,000 for emergency care, as the first South Texas hospital with emergency services exclusively for children. Additionally, Driscoll maintains a state-of-the-art ground/air transport team, 20-bed pediatric intensive care unit, 40-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and specialized medical outreach.

www.driscollchildrens.org

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