Mary E. Case, M.D., St. Louis, and Suzanne McCune, St. Louis, were selected as the 2011 recipients of the Children’s Trust Fund Chair Award for their extensive volunteer work and technical assistance provided to CTF during the past 15 years. Most notably, Case and McCune provided CTF with support in the areas of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) prevention and Safe Sleep/Safe Crib education resulting in very effective public education campaigns that have expanded over the years. Dr. Case, Chief Medical Examiner for the St. Louis County Medical Examiner’s Office, and McCune, a Forensic Administrator with the same office, were instrumental in the production efforts of the original CTF SBS prevention video released in 2001, as well as the current DVD, which includes a chapter on Safe Sleep For Your Baby, released in October 2011. Dr. Case appears in both DVDs. Additionally, McCune helped to develop a safe crib grant program supported with CTF funds since the late 1990s.
The CTF Chair Award was established in 2002 by the late Richard “Dick” Dunn, former CTF Chair, as a way for the Board to recognize a person or organization for outstanding service to CTF. The award recipient(s) shall have exhibited outstanding service, advocacy and volunteer work to or on behalf of CTF. In January 2012, outgoing chair Patrice Mugg and CTF staff presented the award to Case and McCune in St. Louis.