The David Besst award is presented to an individual and/or organization that has made a significant contribution to services, resources, policy change, or research in family caregiving. The award honors the awardees but also David Besst, who untiringly worked to establish resources and respite for family caregivers. A second award goes to a family caregiver for their contributions to family and/or other family caregivers. Honorees are recognized with a plaque at the Family Caregiver Day at the Capitol.
Can't find the answers you're looking for? Contact us here.
To nominate someone for the David Besst Award, fill out the nomination form on our website and provide detailed information about how your nominee meets the award criteria.
To be eligible for the David Besst Award, nominees must meet the following criteria:
Spirit of Caregiving: Embodies the true essence of caregiving.
Advocacy & Education: Actively promotes the rights of caregivers through advocacy and educational efforts.
Support for Caregiving: Consistently promotes and supports the cause of caregiving throughout Arizona.
Alignment with ACC Mission: Upholds and reflects the mission and vision of the Arizona Caregiver Coalition.
Community Collaboration: Demonstrates the ability to collaborate with community partners to advance the cause of caregiving using best practices.
Residency: Must be a resident of Arizona.
The David Besst Award is an honor recognizing professional individuals or organizations who have made significant contributions to the caregiving community in Arizona through advocacy, education, and collaborative efforts.
Nominations are accepted at the beginning of each year, with a selection being made in February.
The selected honoree will receive a plaque during the Family Caregiver Day event held at the Arizona Capitol.
David Besst had a very successful 25 year career in the business community. Mr. Besst was introduced to caregiving through an aging parent. His experience caring for both of his parents over a 10 year span inspired him to go back to school, where he earned a degree in the Gerontology Program at Phoenix College in 2005. After serving a five month practicum/internship with the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging, Mr. Besst started a position as the Caregiver Programs Specialist for the State of Arizona in the Division of Aging and Adult Services. He also served as Aging Programs Manager and Team Lead for Home and Community Based Services.He was often considered a maverick in his field and a system change for family caregivers, ADRC’s, and the Lifespan Respite Programs including respite vouchers programs.From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Besst provided leadership to a sub-committee of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging that developed and launched the Arizona Caregiver Coalition (ACC) in May of 2008. The Arizona Caregiver Coalition is based on C.A.R.E., an acronym based on Collaboration, Advocacy, Respite, and Education.
2023 recipient of the David Besst Award for contributions to family caregiving is Karen Enriquez. Karen is the Family Caregiver Support Specialist for the SEAGO Area Agency on Aging in southeast Arizona. During the most difficult time of the recent pandemic, Karen kept on educating caregivers and continues to do so through hybrid options. She advocated for and facilitated caregiver skill-based learning utilizing Trualta an on-line, on-demand caregiver learning portal, and piloted the program for the State. Her online support groups, events and Facebook blasts provided caregivers with much needed support and moved her program from static to dynamic and personalized. For Karen, upholding the mission and vision of the Arizona Caregiver Coalition is a priority, as she understands the importance it brings to her caregivers. She is also a loving caregiver to her own husband.
The SJRC mission is “Quality Care., Quality Service, Quality of Life.” Susan J. Rheem, was a true visionary 40 years ago as to what Arizona needed to support caregiving families, especially in rural Arizona. SJRC is an adult day health program supporting caregivers in Northern Arizona for many of the past 40 years. Over the years, SJRC has hosted numerous caregiver educational workshops, independently or in conjunction with partnership organizations. Two years ago, SJRC became a nationally recognized Memory Cafe provider where caregivers and their care recipients can have a fun time together without having to focus on the illness of dementia.
Anika Robinson has been advocating for families and children with high acute needs free of charge for the past five years while caring for her own children with high needs. When she saw a broken mental health system, she decided to make it better. She advocated for the mental health rights of the 19,000 children and youth who were in foster care and helped pass new laws in 2016 now known as Jacob’s law. After Jacob’s law passed, she helped open a nonprofit called ASA Now in Mesa and started monthly support groups, helping families get to know each other so they could be a natural support system to each other. She continued to advocate in numerous committees including the Citizens Review Panel, the Foster/Adoptive/Kinship Care Oversight Workgroup through Mercy Care and the Policy Workgroup at AHCCCS.
Jane Gerlica worked for Banner Health for 33 years as a case manager and social worker and joined the team at Banner Alzheimer’s Institute (BAI) in 2017 to begin coordinating the collaborative effort between Banner and City of Tempe to launch the first Dementia Friendly (DF) community in Tempe. She developed and expanded the Memory Café at the Tempe Public Library. Her hard work includes coordination of Memory Café program volunteers, life enrichment programs for persons with memory loss and the support group for caregivers. In addition, she leads the DF Action team and coordinates Dementia Friends Champions, Dementia Friends Information Sessions as well as monthly caregiver lecture series. Under Jane’s guidance more than 5000 community members have participated in Dementia Friendly informational sessions raising awareness of dementia and the needs of family caregivers while lowering stigma.
David W. Coon is Associate Dean and professor at the ASU College of Nursing and Health Innovation. Professor Coon designs and evaluates interventions, such as CarePRO and EPIC that focus on culturally diverse groups of midlife and older adults facing chronic illnesses (e.g., dementia, cancer, depression) and their family caregivers. He was an investigator on the NIH REACH projects—a large multi-site intervention study focused on the creation of an intervention for caregivers of people with dementia. His collaborations have led to Dementia Capable Systems grants including the current project with the Alzheimer’s Association, PCOA, Area Agency on Aging Region 1, the Arizona Caregiver Coalition, the Arizona Department of Economic Security, and the HOPE Network that expands the delivery of evidence-based programs for people living alone with dementia, family caregivers of people with intellectual disabilities (e.g., Down Syndrome) who are developing dementia as they age, and the underserved Latino population.
Founded in 1981, Duet is a nonprofit, interfaith organization whose mission is to promote health and well-being through vitally needed services to homebound adults, family caregivers, faith communities, and grandparents raising grandchildren. Duet does this through free-of-charge services for caregivers, including support groups, mentoring, personalized information including community resources, and guided assistance in the caregiving journey. Community members also become educated on the importance of helping family caregivers understand that help is available, for example through support groups. Accepting the award was Ann Wheat, Executive Director.
Lois von Halle and Bonnie Danowski have been advocates for family caregivers for many years. Lois was a caregiver and then gave her time to help other caregivers through the Caregiver Resource Line. Bonnie also was a family caregiver and worked with David Besst to establish a respite benefit for family caregivers in Arizona. Presenting the award is Brandon Baxter from the NACOG Area Agency on Aging.
The Arizona Caregiver Coalition is dedicated to recognizing the invaluable contributions of family caregivers who go above and beyond in serving their loved ones. This prestigious award is specifically designed to honor family caregivers, not professional caregivers, who selflessly devote their time, energy, and compassion to supporting family members in need. Often, these individuals balance caregiving responsibilities with other life demands, navigating personal and financial challenges to ensure their loved ones receive the care and attention they deserve.
2023 recipient of the Family Caregiving Award is Mark Garrity, who has been caring for his life partner Leonard for several years. Leonard had been diagnosed with Younger Onset Alzheimer’s Disease and requires assistance with many daily tasks, from money management and daily planning to personal care and medication management. Mark has been at his side non-stop, and he also finds the time to participate in events to educate other families about the day-to-day challenges of living with dementia.
"My mom has been a caregiver since the 1990s, taking care of numerous individuals, both the elderly and the young. She is the most loving and understanding person I know. In 2005, she lost her dad, whom she found had passed away in our home after battling Alzheimer’s for several years. Before that, in 2001, she lost her mother to a severe heart attack. That same year, she had me, Justin Young, and I was born with seizures and autism. She has always been my rock and caregiver.In addition to caring for me, she also takes care of her brother, who served in the Navy. One day, she awoke to find that he had suffered a severe stroke. She is truly an amazing individual—she’s my mom, and I love her deeply."
- Justin Young (son)
