Special Olympics Receives Eighth Annual Golden Triangle Award American Academy of Dermatology recognizes health program for educating people with intellectual disabilities about skin safety Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® was recognized on 31 July 2004 by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) with the Gold Triangle Award for rising to the challenge and educating people with intellectual disabilities about the specialty of dermatology. Dr. Mark L. Wagner, (center) Director of Special Olympics Health and Research Initiatives, accepted the Gold Triangle Award on behalf of Special Olympics. Yvonne Jung (right) and Anthony Ruivivar, celebrity presenters from the NBC drama Third Watch, are also pictured. [Photo courtesy American Academy of Dermatology] The Healthy Athletes initiative won the award in the Health Community Organization Special Event category for its Skin Cancer Prevention-Sun Safety Education exhibit presented at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland. At this international sporting event, competing athletes received skin screenings of the upper body face, neck and ears by volunteer dermatologists. "Dermatologists are constantly developing new and effective treatments for everything from acne to vitiligo," said dermatologist Boni E. Elewski, M.D., President of the AAD and host of the 2004 Gold Triangle Awards, "and industry, media and public health organizations play an important role in sharing these exciting advances with patients. This year's Gold Triangle Award winners are to be commended for their efforts in increasing awareness of dermatology and greatly impacting the lives of people throughout the country who are affected physically and emotionally by these conditions." Held at the Hilton New York in New York City (USA), the prestigious Gold Triangle Awards saluted winners in the media, industry, health community and public service, as well as individual efforts for excellence in promoting dermatology awareness and encouraging healthy behavior in the care of skin, hair and nails. Dr. Mark L. Wagner, Director of Special Olympics Health and Research Initiatives, accepted the award on behalf of Special Olympics. "It was truly an honor to accept this award on behalf of Special Olympics Healthy Athletes," said Wagner. "We are grateful to the American Academy of Dermatology for recognizing the dedicated efforts of our volunteers and sponsors in improving the quality of life for our athletes." Special Olympics Healthy Athletes is a Supporting Member of the Sun Safety Alliance, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to significantly reduce the incidence of skin cancer in the United States by motivating people to actively adopt and practice safe sun behavior. One of the titles of a series of pamphlets produced by Healthy Athletes (written with Special Olympics athletes in mind) is Sun Safety: "While some exposure to sunlight can be enjoyable and fun, too much can be dangerous. Overexposure to UV radiation in sunlight can result in a painful sunburn..." Download the Sun Safety pamphlet (Adobe PDF, 1M)