International Nonprofit Honors Norfolk Restaurateur

NORFOLK, VA (09/15/2010)(readMedia)-- Physicians for Peace will honor Omar Boukhriss on Oct. 2 for his longtime support of the organization's mission, at home and abroad, as well as his humanitarian efforts in Morocco. The award ceremony takes place during the 2010 Physicians for Peace Celebrate the Nations Gala Reception in Virginia Beach, Va.

"Not only has Omar actively raised money on behalf of Physicians for Peace, but he's also played key roles on two missions to Morocco, in 2003 and again in 2010," said Brig. Gen. Ron Sconyers (USAF, Ret.), president and chief executive officer of Physicians for Peace. "Because Omar facilitated such a deep camaraderie between the team and medical professionals in Morocco, future information-sharing and training missions already are being discussed and the seeds for long-term partnering have been planted."

A History of Service

For more than 10 years, Boukhriss has been a friend and supporter of Physicians for Peace. As the owner of Omar's Carriage House, Voilà and The Pagoda Restaurant in Norfolk, Boukhriss has hosted fundraisers, including "The Taste of Morocco" in March 2010, and he has underwritten costs to send educational missions to train surgeons in Morocco. In May 2010 Boukhriss joined Physicians for Peace on a mission to Fes, the third largest city in Morocco, where he acted as a translator and cultural liaison for an 18-member medical team. During that mission, surgeons performed the first off-pump heart surgery in Fes.

"The surgical Morocco mission definitely opened my eyes in terms of the impact that Physicians for Peace has in cities all over the world," Boukhriss said. "This work is something we should all be proud to promote and to embrace as part of our legacy. That is why I support and remain engaged in ensuring these medical missions continue."

Boukhriss is one of three 2010 Medical Diplomat award winners. The other winners, Dr. Ed Karotkin, Physicians for Peace chairman-elect, and Robin Jones, R.N., a nurse and midwife in Chesapeake, also will be recognized at the gala, along with President Bill Clinton, who will receive Physicians for Peace's highest honor, the Charles E. Horton Award for Humanitarian Service, via video. At the gala, Physicians for Peace also will present an Excellence in Service Award to Dr. Juan Montero, a mission volunteer, team leader, former board member and friend of Physicians for Peace since 1995 and a key organizer of Physicians for Peace - Philippines.

"Each of the 2010 award recipient has demonstrated ongoing, selfless contributions to the achievement of the Physicians for Peace mission in training and education, clinical and research excellence and delivery of health care services," Sconyers said.

Tickets Still Available

The 2010 Celebrate the Nations Gala Reception will be held at the Cavalier Beach Club in Virginia Beach on Saturday, October 2, 2010, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information, visit www.physiciansforpeace.org or contact Sallie Ray, sray@physiciansforpeace.org; (757) 625-7569.

ABOUT PHYSICIANS FOR PEACE

Physicians for Peace is an international non-profit organization that mobilizes volunteer healthcare professionals to assist developing nations with unmet medical needs and scarce resources. Through effective, hands-on medical education and training, clinical care and donated medical supplies, Physicians for Peace develops long-term, sustainable, replicable, and evidence-based programs to help partner nations build medical capability and capacity to help themselves. Since 1989 Volunteers for the 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization have conducted medical missions in more than 60 countries.

With its headquarters in Norfolk, Va., Physicians for Peace has programs in 22 countries and offices in Manila, the Philippines and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In 2009, the organization celebrated its 20th Anniversary.

For more information, go to: www.physiciansforpeace.org

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