GRACE WINERY OWNER HONORED WITH PRESTIGIOUS CARING AWARD
Award Winner to be Inducted Into “Hall of Fame for Caring Americans”
Senator Robert J. Dole, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Val J. Halamandaris, Founder and Executive Director of the Caring Institute, announce Dick Grace, owner of Grace Winery and founder of the Grace Family Foundation, St. Helena, CA, as one of the 2008 National Caring Award adult winners. This honor is bestowed annually upon the most caring people in America.
“On behalf of our board of trustees, it is a great honor for us to pay tribute to these extraordinary people who have used their lives for the betterment of others. They are wonderful role models and the very personification of caring,” said Senator Dole.
Dick was a successful stock broker in Northern California with a wife, children and a lavish house in the suburbs when he first saw the vacant St. Helena Victorian homestead that would become Grace Vineyards. He and his wife bought the property in 1976 and their successful first harvest of Cabernet Sauvignon soon gained a cult following. But life has its ironies: Dick’s spiritual path led him to Buddhism and recovery from his own alcoholism. When his wines sold at charity auctions for tens of thousands of dollars, Dick realized its potential for good. The Grace Family Foundation uses wine, “as a catalyst for healing the planet.” Wines from Grace Vineyards have fetched as much as $100,000 a bottle, adding up to $25 million for programs that address juvenile cancer, homelessness and abuse. Most of the funds go to projects in Asia, the cradle of Buddhism and Dick’s spiritual home. He and his wife, Ann, go there often to build clinics, assist orphanages, and spend time with those they help.
Dick and four other National Caring Award adult winners will be honored during an induction ceremony at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, April 7, 2008 at the Frederick Douglass Museum & Hall of Fame for Caring Americans on Capitol Hill, located at 320 A Street, N.E. in Washington, D.C. The winners will receive their awards at the official National Caring Awards ceremony the same evening in Washington, DC.
The Caring Institute was founded in 1985 by Val Halamandaris as a result of his first meeting with Mother Teresa. Its mission is to promote the values of caring, integrity and public service.
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