A Gainesville businessman and philanthropist has been recognized by the Medical Association of Georgia for his efforts to combat opioid abuse in the state.
Dallas F. Gay was honored with the Medical Association of Georgia’s (MAG) Donna Glass Non-Physician Distinguished Service Award during a ceremony that took place in conjunction with the MAG’s 163rd House of Delegates meeting in Savannah on October 21. The MAG award honors non-physicians for their contributions to the advancement and support of medicine.
In his nomination letter, Hall County Medical Society member Jack M. Chapman Jr., M.D., stated that, “Dallas Gay is one of the primary architects of the Medical Association of Georgia Foundation’s ‘Think About It’ campaign to reduce prescription drug abuse – raising some $400,000, including a personal donation of $10,000.”
Dr. Chapman added that, “In his role as the ‘Think About It’ campaign chair community co-chair, Mr. Gay has been a tireless advocate for raising awareness with key stakeholders across the state. In addition to garnering widespread media coverage for the ‘Think About It’ campaign, Mr. Gay has made a countless number of presentations in Georgia.”
It is also worth noting that Gay – who lost his grandson, Jeffrey, to prescription drug abuse in 2012 – helped the MAG Foundation secure more than $280,000 from the Northeast Medical Center Foundation to fund ‘Project DAN’ (Deaths Avoided by Naloxone), which has funded more than 5,000 doses of naloxone for first responders and which has been credited with saving at least 60 lives. And Dr. Chapman pointed out that, “Dallas led the effort to create the training program and educational resources for law enforcement officers and other first responders on how to administer naloxone.
Dr. Chapman concluded that, “Mr. Gay has spent an enormous amount of time and personal resources to combat the prescription drug abuse epidemic in Georgia. The residents of Hall County and other parts of the state are consequently living better and safer lives.”
Gay is the chairman of the board of Protein Products in Gainesville.
