In the spirit of "we," nearly 300 people gathered for fellowship, education, great food and fun at the 29th annual Alive and Free celebration of recovery, held May 2 - 4, 2008 on Hazelden's Center City, Minn. campus. The "attitude of gratitude" was especially prominent when the CARE and Ree Lasker awards were presented and William Cope Moyers provided the keynote talk.

Pictured at left are Judy Vitrano, recipient of the Ree Lasker Award, and Jane Nakken, recipient of the 22nd CARE Award.

Moyers had the honor of presenting the CARE Award, which stands for Consistent Activity in Recovery and Education in the field of addiction and recovery. Moyers, who was hired at Hazelden in 1995 by Nakken, lauded Nakken for her 34 years of dedicated service to the field, including 25 years at Hazelden. Nakken held many positions at Hazelden. She was a counselor from 1977 to 1981 at the Center for Youth and Families in Plymouth, Minn. (known as Hazelden Pioneer House then) and was manager of Treatment Service there from 1981-1987. She developed the concept for the Parent Program, considered a model program today, and authored the Hazelden Step Workbooks for Adolescents. Nakken served as a public policy specialist and director of the Center for Public Policy in the early 1990s and as vice president of the Hazelden Institute, where she provided leadership to initiatives such as the Women Healing conferences and Hazelden's 50th anniversary celebration. She has also authored 17 pamphlets and books, several anonymously.

"In the early 1990s, Jane worked tirelessly to expand access to treatment at the state and national levels," said Moyers. "She laid the ground work for parity, work that is finally coming to fruition. Her passion and commitment are making a big difference in the world."

Unfortunately, Nakken was unable to accept the award in person, because her flight from Cleveland was delayed by bad weather. But she attended activities the next day. Her husband Craig Nakken accepted the award for her on Friday.

"Jane has always loved Hazelden--not the buildings, but the mission, the dream, the miracle that is Hazelden," he said. "She loved Hazelden mainly for how it always pushed her to be the woman God wanted her to be. Jane is especially touched that this award comes from its alumni, because to her nothing represents the miracle of Hazelden more than its alumni. . . . Its alumni mean more to her than any of you will ever know. Thank you for understanding how much my wife loves Hazelden."

Nakken continues to work in the addiction field as a consultant on several addiction care initiatives, including work with several recovery programs for Native Americans nationwide. She joins an esteemed group of past CARE winners that includes Pat Butler, Ed Juergens, Dan Anderson, Joan Kroc, Charles Dubois, Lawrence Barnett, Ed Yahle, Ree and Betty Lasker, Gordy Grimm, George Weller, Bill Pittman, Jon D. Olson, Karen Casey Elliott, Gay Parker, Damian McElrath, Carl Anderson, Wally Arntzen, Louis Hill, Warren Adam, Basil Brave Heart and Dan Cain.

Judy Vitrano was equally gracious in accepting the Ree Lasker Award from Lisa Reynolds, director of Alumni Relations. The award recognizes outstanding volunteerism to Hazelden and the recovering community. Vitrano has been a faithful volunteer to the Alive and Free celebration and to the Older Adult Program and medallion ceremonies of the Hanley Center (formerly Hanley-Hazelden) in West Palm Beach, Fla.

"This award is very special to me, because I met Ree Lasker in 1988," she said. "Ree taught me two things: how to laugh and how to be of service to people. He taught me what it is to be of service to others."

The Friday award ceremony was capped by Moyers talk titled "Broken: The Rest of the Story." Moyers shared his story of addiction and recovery, as documented in his book, "Broken." But he provided an epilogue of sorts to his book. "By the grace of God and the power of AA, I've not had a drink since Oct. 12, 1994," he said. But he stressed the need to work the program vigilantly to fight the "other isms," the demons that can feed the hole in one's soul.

Fred Holmquist earned rave reviews for his Friday afternoon presentation, as did presenters for the Saturday and Sunday portions of Alive and Free, including Hazelden psychologist Fran Williams, who led a workshop titled "Attachment and Addiction," Roger B. for his "Make Room for God" presentation, Karl M. for sharing his experience, strength and hope on Saturday night, and Delia Jurek, a specialist from the Lodge Program, who led a presentation on Sunday morning.

The annual event is presented by the Alumni Relations staff of Lisa Reynolds, Sara Connolly, Sharon Johnson, and Rick Statsick with the help of additional Hazelden staff and volunteers.

--by Marty Duda

May 6, 2008