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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – Fifteen individuals and organizations were nominated for the awards but only three were given the Childcare Resources’ 2012 Children’s Advocate Award. The honors were handed out during the 22nd Annual Children’s Advocate Award Luncheon Tuesday.   The event was the Jazz Farewell to the luncheon.  It also included an announcement of an exciting new format for the Children’s Advocate Award recognitions and celebrations that will start in 2013 which includes a partnership with CBS42.  This year’s winners of the Children’s Advocate Award are Phyllis Wyne, Christy Carlson Swaid and the Jefferson County Department of Health.

Here are capsule’s noting why each were worthy recipients of the award:

Phyllis Wyne with FOCUS On Recovery's Board President, Laura Hinton

Phyllis Wyne:

After a successful career at South Central Bell, Mrs. Wyne took early retirement before moving on to her true calling, which is to serve others. She has devoted her life to advocate for literacy, children’s and women’s issues and the right of an excellent education for every child.

Beginning in college, Ms. Wyne established herself as a leader, founding and co-founding organizations like L’Essence, a club dedicated to supporting the Sickle Cell Foundation of Central Alabama and CampLife, a summer program for disadvantaged youth. She has also provided leadership for The Literacy Council and was the first Board President to be elected to the Birmingham Board of Education.

Ms. Wyne currently serves as executive director of FOCUS On Recovery, a program designed to help women, who suffer from addictions, become successful as parents, in the work force and the community.

Ms. Wyne is a founding member of the Christian Women Job Corps board of directors, a member of 2004 Leadership Birmingham, District President for Alabama Association of School Boards and served on the following boards: Jefferson County Workforce Development, YMCA, and the Music Opportunity Program among many others.

Mrs. Wyne’s strategic vision and strong leadership come together to yield a record of successful results in all that this Children’s Advocate Award recipient strives to do.

Christy Carlson Swaid:

Her initiative entitled HEAL – Healthy Eating Active Living – emphasizes nutritious food plus heart-healthy exercise for children in Alabama, which ranks in the top three for obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Mrs. Swaid used her passion to motivate medical, education and nutrition professionals to join in her crusade to turn-around that statistic for Alabama.

HEAL incorporates a school-based curriculum. Since HEAL’s 2007 beginnings, the wellness program is now in 23 schools statewide, empowering elementary students to fight obesity and other health problems. With the healthy futures of Alabama’s children in mind, HEAL targets teachers, providing training and support to get the maximum value out of the program.

Mrs. Swaid works tirelessly to develop HEAL Alabama into an organization that will change the way the nation looks at our state. Instead of leading the nation for poor health statistics, she believes Alabama should be in the lead with the most powerful solution to this growing health epidemic. We believe if anyone can help achieve this ambitious goal it is Christy Swaid.

Jefferson County Department of Health:

The Department of Health is well-known and recognized throughout the nation as an agency that maintains high standards, innovative services and community engagement. Recently, the Health Department partnered with several early childhood agencies, including Childcare Resources, to craft and implement child care regulations to protect the health and safety of children in child care in Jefferson County. The new regulations went into effect on January 1, 2012 and positively impact the lives of over 18,000 children.

Jefferson County Department of Health led the charge to improve child care in Jefferson County by implementing new health and safety regulations, which all child care programs – licensed or license exempt – must incorporate. The new regulations provide for physical activity and access to fresh foods, protection of children from second hand smoke, background checks for all child care providers, regular inspections, training and technical assistance and more.