Awards News
Artist and Dallas restaurant family will be featured at MS fundraiser
![Lydia Emily artist MS](https://dallas.culturemap.com/media-library/lydia-emily-artist-ms.jpg?id=31476417&width=2000&height=1500&quality=65&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C583)
An artist and a Dallas restaurant family will be featured at an annual multiple sclerosis fundraiser in Dallas.
According to a release, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will present four awards at its "Together for a Cure" fundraiser luncheon including its Spirit of Hope award, which will go to Anna Lombardi Daigle and the Lombardi Family, known for restaurants such as Taverna, Toulouse, Bistro 31, and Lombardi Cucina Italia.
And this year's Keynote Speaker is Lydia Emily, an artist and multiple sclerosis advocate, whose has been featured at galleries in Milan, Berlin, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
The Society will also present "Professional for a Cure" awards to three medical professionals:
- Bharathy Sundaram, M.D., Texas Institute for Neurological Disorders
- Benjamin M. Greenberg, M.D., UT Southwestern
- Nancy Monson, Ph.D., UT Southwestern
The Professionals for a Cure Award honors leaders in the MS movement. Drs. Greenberg and Monson are members of UT Southwestern's Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute; both have received research funding support from the National MS Society.
The luncheon will be held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on November 18 from 11 am–1 pm. It supports programs that contribute to the quality of life of those affected by MS, as well as national research initiatives seeking solutions to MS.
Anna Lombardi Daigle and the Lombardi Family are being recognized for their foundational efforts in supporting and building awareness for this luncheon since 2007.
"This is very near and dear to my heart as my mother has been suffering from MS since 1984," Daigle says.
Lydia Emily battled cancer in 2010, and was then diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012. She'll tell her story and how MS has impacted her life.
Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with two to three times more women than men being diagnosed.