Wednesday, September 24, 2003

Art Linkletter to speak at benefit

He's 91 and still going strong.

Art Linkletter is best known for his radio and television work, but he has spent a great deal of his life working to promote the good of mankind. He will speak Oct. 16 at the Eleventh Annual Benefit Dinner and Award Banquet presented by Southwest Christian Hospice and Hope House.

Art is well qualified to speak to people who have experienced trauma in their lives. In 1969, his daughter, Diane, committed suicide while experimenting with LSD. Ten years later, his son, Robert, was killed in a car crash. Having been plagued with misfortune, Art committed his life to helping others avoid the same tragedies by becoming a national anti-drug spokesperson.

Linkletter's love for children is evidenced through his many years of interviewing them for his television shows and through his books, "Kids Say the Darndest Things" and "The Secret World of Kids."

The Benefit Dinner and Award Banquet will be at the new Georgia International Convention Center.

Southwest Christian Hospice and Hope House, located in Union City, serve terminally ill patients and provides respite care for medically fragile children. Their services are provided at no cost to patients or their families. All proceeds from the Banquet will go toward providing these vital community services.

Tickets are $100 and can be purchased by calling Janice Wright at 770-969-8354.