American Cancer Society Recognizes Warner Baxter as 2012 CEO of the Year

ATLANTA, November 16, 2012 /3BL Media/ – The American Cancer Society announces that the 2012 CEO of the Year award will be presented today to Warner Baxter, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ameren Missouri, for his outstanding support of the Society’s mission to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

The CEO of the Year recognition is part of the American Cancer Society Corporate Impact Awards, presented annually by the Society’s Corporate & Systems Initiative. The honor is given to a chief executive officer who has engaged with the Society through personal commitments of time, talent or financial support, while facilitating the involvement of their employees, members and/or customers in support of the Society’s mission.

“Warner Baxter shares the commitment of the American Cancer Society to help people stay well and get well, to find cures for cancer and to fight back,” says John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. “Mr. Baxter continues to give back because he understands the importance of cancer prevention among his workforce and community --- and he knows we have to take action to avoid a tsunami of unnecessary disease and suffering.”

Baxter founded the St. Louis chapter of the American Cancer Society CEOs Against Cancer program in 2011 and helped to recruit other executives in his area. Earlier this year, Baxter led an event which recruited 121 enrollees into the Society’s third  Cancer Prevention Study (CPS-3), a historic grassroots effort giving communities across the country the opportunity to contribute to our understanding of cancer through research. He has also begun to leverage his involvement with Coaches vs. Cancer - a nationwide program empowering athletic coaches, their teams, fans and communities to raise awareness and money to support the Society’s lifesaving mission - to develop collaborative initiatives with the CEOs program.

Baxter is all too familiar with the devastating impact a cancer diagnosis can have on a family. He lost his father to cancer, and his brother is a 5-year survivor of the disease. Although he has always been a strong supporter of the American Cancer Society, Baxter developed a sharper understanding of the role CEOs could play in supporting the fight against cancer after attending a Society-led meeting with other CEOs at the United Nations, focusing on the burden of non-communicable diseases. 

“I truly saw the problem of cancer on a global scale. While progress is being made in the fight against cancer, there is still much work to be done. I firmly believe this is an important time for the private sector to really step up. Working together, we can set the tone for staying well in our companies and our communities,” Baxter says. “I am convinced that CEOS Against Cancer can help make a meaningful difference in the fight against cancer.”

The 9,000 employees of Ameren Missouri have access to several wellness programs, including: free tobacco-cessation treatments and counseling, on-site health screenings at locations with 25 or more participants, monthly lunch-and-learns on various health topics and access to a health plan administrator who assists those struggling with complicated diagnoses. Since 2011, Ameren Missouri co-workers have participated in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks and created more than 35 teams for Relay For Life events.

Baxter is being presented with the CEO of the Year award today during a session at the American Cancer Society’s Nationwide Volunteer and Staff Leadership Summit held in Atlanta, Georgia at the Loews Hotel. Photos of Baxter receiving the award will be posted on the @AmericanCancer Twitter page (hashtag #ACSImpact) later today.

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end cancer for good. As a global grassroots force of three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping you stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early, helping you get well by being there for you during and after a diagnosis, by finding cures through groundbreaking discovery and fighting back through public policy. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.8 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, an estimated 13.7 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

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