Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award presented to Dr. Sanjay Gupta by Brianna Hernandez - NAMIC Blogger

The 2009 NAMIC Conference came to a close this afternoon at the Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award Luncheon honoring this year’s recipient, CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta. NAMIC Board of Directors Chair, Mark Garner, introduced Gupta to a full house at the Grand Hyatt’s Imperial Ballroom. Garner’s introduction included video highlights of Gupta’s impressive career and humanitarian efforts, as well as congratulatory messages from former president Bill Clinton, Lance Armstrong and Deepak Chopra, among others.

Gupta began his career at CNN in 2001 and received his first high-profile assignment covering the September 11 attacks. In 2003, he was assigned to report from Iraq as an embedded reporter and reported live from a desert operating room where he also served as a surgeon. He later covered the tsunami disaster in South Asia, which contributed to CNN receiving the Alfred I. DuPont Award. He quickly earned a reputation for being fearless, dedicated and hands-on. Most notably, he was instantly recognized for his genuine interest in reporting with humanity, and providing CNN audiences with unfiltered coverage.

The Emmy-Award winning surgeon and journalist is also a documentarian. Among Gupta’s numerous documentaries are “Fit to Lead,” in which Gupta reported on the presidential campaign in 2008 and “Blood Spilled,” about the aftermath of the Pakistani earthquake. Gupta also recently penned his second book, Cheating Death, in which he investigates medical miracles.

A humble Gupta gladly accepted the award, while receiving a standing ovation, and was obviously surprised and honored. An emotional Gupta remarked, “My mom would be really proud . . . my dad wouldn’t believe it!”

Gupta shared various anecdotes from his career with luncheon attendees, including his time reporting on the tsunami in South Asia and his investigative journey to study centenarians in Okinawa. “Seeing people with nothing and seeing people struggling reminds me of the quote, ‘with knowledge comes responsibility. Now that you have seen, you must act.’ I think the media can be used to do good. It can be used for change and to hold people accountable.”

Gupta’s altruistic spirit, medical knowledge, reporting finesse, ingenuity and bravery has made him more than worthy of the 2009 Mickey Leland Humanitarian Achievement Award and the inspirational, moving luncheon was the perfect finale to a successful conference.

Brianna Hernandez - NAMIC Blogger