Mary Bird Perkins Elects New Board of Directors

Donna M. Saurage elected chair

  (Baton Rouge, La.) At the April 2011 annual Board of Directors meeting of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, new volunteer leadership was elected to help carry out the mission of the Center. Donna M. Saurage was elected to serve as the Center’s chairman of the board, the seventh in the Center’s 40 years. Saurage, community volunteer, succeeds J. Gerard (Jerry) Jolly, who will remain on the board for an additional two years as immediate past chair. Other officers elected include Vice Chair Dr. Tom J. Meek Jr., Dermatology Clinic, and Secretary Brett P. Furr, Taylor Porter, attorneys at law. D. Randolph Waesche, Resource Management, Inc. was re-elected treasurer. “It is my privilege to Chair such a dynamic and impassioned board, dedicated to working together to do whatever it takes to lessen the burden of cancer in the communities Mary Bird Perkins serves,” said Saurage. New Board members elected for three-year terms include Lee Michael Berg, owner/president, Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry; John M. Steitz, executive vice president and COO, Albemarle Corporation; Mike Ford, vice president, Strategic Employee Benefit Services; and Dee Keller, community volunteer.  Additional Board members include Maurice King, M.D., medical director; Todd Stevens, president/CEO, MBP; Paul Thompson; Bill Firesheets; Kevin Carman; Rose Hudson; Bill Peters; Lee Griffin; Bill O’Quin; Eli Jones; Tom Adamek; and Art Favre. Commented Todd Stevens, president and CEO, Mary Bird Perkins, “For over 40 years, Mary Bird Perkins has been governed by volunteer leadership – standard bearers of excellence who help ensure Mary Bird remains at the pinnacle of cancer care in the communities it serves.  We are grateful for their leadership, service and guidance and look forward to working with them to deliver our mission across southeast Louisiana.”