TIHAN Adds Board Members, Officers

TUCSON (Observer Update) - The Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network (TIHAN), a consortium of 38 Southern Arizona faith communities providing a compassionate interfaith response to HIV/AIDS, announces the addition of new Board members and the election of its officers for 2009.

Newly elected Board members include:

· Dave Fredricks – General Manager/Controller of the Tucson Shopper

· Terri McCormick, RN BSN CHPN – Home Health Nurse Case Manager for Tender Loving Care Home Health

· Kris Marsh – Controller for Keegan Linscott & Kenon, PC, Certified Public Accountants

· Dr. Heather Moroso, NMD – a naturopathic physician and the Executive Director of the nonprofit Positively Beautiful organization


These new Board members will be formally welcomed at TIHAN’s Annual Meeting and Volunteer Appreciation Party on Monday, February 23, 2009, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 602 North Wilmot, at the intersection of Wilmot and 5th Street. The public is invited.

TIHAN’s Board of Directors has elected the following officers:

· Tom Muller, Au.D. - Board President (second term) – Audiologist with the University of Arizona’s Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, member of St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church.

· Aimee Graves, M.A. - Board Vice President – Senior Director of Child and Family Services for CODAC Behavioral Health Services, member of Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

· Cathy Davis - Board Secretary – District Sales Coordinator for American Family Life Assurance Company (AFLAC), member of the Jewish faith.

· Melinda Sims, Major, US Air Force (Retired) - Board Treasurer – Administrative Assistant for Membership and Finance at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, where she is a member.

In 2008, TIHAN’s education and awareness programs reached more than 5,000 people through presentations, sermons, spoken announcements, and information tables at community events and another 36,000 through faith community bulletins and newsletters. TIHAN’s volunteer-based support programs served 267 people living with HIV/AIDS in 2008. Our Poz Café lunch program is the largest regular gathering place for people living with HIV/AIDS in Southern Arizona, having served over 10,000 meals to more than 500 people living with HIV/AIDS. According to current trends, the number of people diagnosed with AIDS will outnumber the number of people living with HIV in Arizona by 2012 (AZ Dept. of Health Services, February 2007), requiring more care and treatment and increasing the urgency of our mission:

The Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network offer our hearts and hands to provide compassionate and non-judgmental service to those affected by HIV/AIDS. Through education and support, we — as individuals and faith communities — work to build bridges, reduce stigma and sustain hope.