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Dr. Susan F. Sordoni accepts the 2011 Anti-Defamation League Distinguished Community Service Award on Sunday from Eugene Roth at the Woodlands Inn & Resort.
BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
Cantor Ahron Abraham of Temple Israel leads the audience in the singing of the national anthem Sunday at the 2011 Anti-Defamation League Distinguished Community Award Dinner.
BILL TARUTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
PLAINS TWP. – Gene Roth called her “more than extraordinary” and the “ultimate multi-tasker.”
With nearly 300 people on hand at the Woodlands on Sunday night, Dr. Susan Sordoni accepted the Anti-Defamation League’s Distinguished Community Service Award.
Roth, whom Sordoni described as her mentor, introduced the recipient and said her story – from her high school years to college to marriage and five children to community service to medical school – is “truly remarkable.”
According to the dinner program, Sordoni was selected “not only for her accomplishments, but also for her dedication, industry, charity and extraordinary empathy for and selfless good works on behalf of those less fortunate.”
Sordoni, the driving force behind the Volunteers in Medicine free medical and dental clinic in Wilkes-Barre, was quick to credit the people who helped establish the clinic, those that work there and the volunteers who dedicate countless hours to the facility.
“They all deserve this award,” she said in her acceptance speech. “I find great difficulty in finding myself worthy of this.”
Twenty-five years ago, Sordoni’s husband, A.J. Sordoni III, was the first recipient of the ADL award, which is presented every two years. He was seated at the dais next to his wife. The five Sordoni children occupied a table up front: Claire Smith, 38, Ashville, N.C.; Patricia Rasmussen, 36, Haverford; Jack, 35, Pittsburgh; Laura, 29, Kingston; and Maria, 26, Philadelphia.
Sordoni, 64, announced at the age of 45 that she wanted to become a physician. It was an admirable goal accomplished five years later when Sordoni became, as she says, “a fairly old lady and a young doctor.”
She talked mostly of health care and said the need for clinics like VIM is growing. She said that while fewer people are unemployed, many are working part-time and have no health benefits.
“The health care system is in crisis,” she said. “The gap between the haves and have-nots is widening.”
Roth said the clinic, which opened in 2008, has 1,900 registered patients with more than 4,000 visits per year. In 2011, VIM opened a free dental clinic.
“The Volunteers in Medicine clinic has helped unburden local emergency rooms,” Roth said.
At age 45 she took the Medical College Admission Test, a pre-requisite to the study of medicine and – as one of the oldest applicants – was accepted to the Medical College of Pennsylvania. She graduated in 1997, completed a family practice residency through Hahnemann Medical School in November 2000 and started a family practice in the Wyoming Valley.
In 2004 Sordoni began planning to open a health clinic, and four years later it was accomplished. In 2008, she founded the Volunteers in Medicine Medical Clinic in Wilkes-Barre and has served as chairperson and volunteer physician. The clinic provides health care for people who are working and have no health benefits, for part-time workers without health care and for unemployed people looking for work.
Howard Levinson, dinner chairman, said Sordoni exemplifies “harmony, equality and respect.”
Tom Martinez, author of the autobiography “Brotherhood of Murder,” was the featured speaker. Martinez talked about his life that was filled with hate and memberships to the Ku Klux Klan and the Nazi Party. He said his life was filled with hate, bigotry and anti-Semitism until 1984, when he became an FBI informant. In 1985, he met with ADL Regional Director Barry Morrison in Philadelphia to begin “making amends.”
“She exemplified what is at the heart of the ADL’s mission – taking direct action to provide equality and opportunity for all people,” Morrison said of Sordoni receiving the award.
Proclamations were received from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the state Senate and others.
In closing, Sordoni gave her simple instructions for life.
“Where you come from to where you’re going is a really short ride,” she said. “The rules are simple – be good, do good and have fun.”
Past winners
Andrew J. Sordoni III
Richard Pearsall
Harold Rosenn
John A. McCole
Robert A. Fortinsky
Esther “Essie” Davidowitz
Dr. Christopher N. and Jane Breiseth
Allan M. and Sue Kluger
Dr. Wallace Stettler
Clifford and Ruth Melberger