March 2009

HOUSTON, TX – Dr. Bryan C. Cannon, Associate, Pediatric Cardiology at Texas Children’s
Hospital; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine; Director, Arrhythmia and
Pacing Service (Electrophysiology) and Associate Director, Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship
Program, has been awarded the first ever Everyday Hero Award by the Community
Collaborations Council. He was nominated by Tahra Peterson of The Periwinkle Foundation,
where he works tirelessly on behalf of children with cancer. Dr. Cannon will be honored at the
Community Collaborations Council’s ninth annual luncheon on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 11:30
a.m. at The Junior League of Houston, Inc. located at 1811 Briar Oaks Lane. The Community
Collaborations Council has long desired to honor a worthy individual notable for their efforts to
affect change in the lives of children and families through dedication and acts of kindness and
compassion. This year, the Council formalized that desire with the creation of the Everyday
Hero Award, and nominations were accepted through December 15, 2008. Dr. Cannon’s
selection as the 2009 Everyday Hero Award recipient is a testimony both to his credentials and
his many contributions to the Houston community. After completing his residency and fellowship
through Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Cannon put his expertise to use benefiting patients at
Texas Children’s Hospital. A major focus of his work is the education of residents and
cardiology fellows. Dr. Cannon is the education director for the pediatric cardiology fellowship at
Texas Children’s Hospital and the coordinator of the introduction to reading an
electrocardiogram and basic principles of congenital heart disease lectures at Ben Taub
Hospital. He has won the Dan McNamara award for outstanding teaching. At Texas Children’s
Hospital, he helped to start Camp Pump It Up, a camp for pediatric cardiology patients.

Since 1997, Dr. Cannon has reserved one week of every summer to volunteer as a counselor at
Camp Periwinkle, a children’s oncology camp. For the past 10 years, he also has served as
head counselor and camp doctor for The Periwinkle Foundation’s Camp YOLO (You Only Live
Once), a weekend camp for children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. As a
member of the board of directors of The Periwinkle Foundation, he helped spearhead a Family
Camp that will occur in February 2009 and a long-term survivor camp that occurred in October
2008. As Tahra Peterson of The Periwinkle Foundation puts it – “If an everyday hero is to be
measured by integrity, character, selfless service and by who he or she encourages others to
be, Dr. Bryan Cannon meets and exceeds that measure. He truly is an everyday hero to
thousands of children challenged by cancer and other life threatening illnesses.” The
Community Collaborations Council is comprised of 10 community organizations that share a
commitment to improving the lives of children and families in Houston. The mission of the
Community Collaborations Council is to inspire and educate the greater Houston community
about issues that impact the lives of children and families. The 2008 – 2009 member
organizations include:
– The Children’s Museum of Houston
– Collaborative for Children
– Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council
– Healthy Family Initiatives
– The Houston Area Association for the Education of Young Children
– The Children’s Mental Health Action Network
– The Junior League of Houston, Inc.
– Neighborhood Centers, Inc.
– Reach Out and Read Texas
– United Way of Greater Houston

In addition to the presentation of the 2009 Houston Hero award, the Community Collaborations
luncheon will include a forum, “Healthy Kids, Healthy Houston, “featuring a speaker’s panel
addressing childhood obesity and ways to prevent it. The speaker’s panel will include: Nancy
Correa, MPH, director of CAN DO Houston Initiative; Nancy Moreno, PhD., Professor of Allied
Health Sciences and Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and
Barbara Tharp, MS, assistant professor of Allied Health Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine.
The public is invited to attend the luncheon and can sign up on the Junior League of Houston
web site at www.juniorleaguehouston.org.