In keeping with 20 years of tradition, all of the 2009 Cardinal's Award honorees "mirror virtues and qualities that have set them apart as wonderful role models for all of us," Cardinal Roger Mahony stated Feb. 7 at the annual awards dinner in Hollywood.

The honored members of the Los Angeles Catholic community --- Kathleen Hannon Aikenhead, Christopher Alders, Dr. Leo Lagasse, Virginia Schneider and Vin Scully --- were feted at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland. The 2009 honorees bring to 99 the number of men and women honored with the award since 1990.

This year's proceeds will benefit early childhood education at Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood. Since 1990, more than $7 million raised from the Cardinal's Award Dinner has supported more than 70 programs, agencies and relief efforts in all pastoral regions of the archdiocese.

In presenting Aikenhead, Cardinal Mahony noted that the president of the William Hannon Foundation (named for her late uncle, a 1994 honoree) is among "the most active people in the archdiocese" whose faith "is an integral part" of her life.

Aikenhead credited her parents, "Uncle Willy" and her husband David for their support and generosity in her work. And she expressed her gratitude for being able to work with schools in helping provide scholarships through the foundation. "How fortunate we are to have these wonderful youth," she said. "Thank you for supporting them by your presence here tonight."

Alders, the youngest honoree in the 20-year history of the Cardinal's Award, exemplified the saying, "When you want something done, ask a busy person," said the cardinal. "With Chris, it will be done well, on time, and with a smile."

Active in supporting inner-city schools (among other projects), Alders said he accepted his honor on behalf of he and his wife Marla. "Anything good and beautiful in my life emanates from my wife," he said. And he paid tribute to many priests and religious he has met and worked with --- "the living saints of our archdiocese," he said.

Lagasse, retired professor of medicine at UCLA, was lauded by Cardinal Mahony for his leadership in advancing the state of women's health in the U.S. and in developing countries through Medicine for Humanity, the organization he cofounded. "Your leadership is an example of how one person can change the world," the cardinal said.

In response, Lagasse thanked his wife Ann, the supporters of Medicine for Humanity, and the many teachers and mentors he encountered throughout his Catholic education in Los Angeles. "Where would we be without our teachers, and our religious nuns, brothers and priests who give their lives to us?" he said.

To Schneiders, who with her late husband George was a founding participant in establishing a parish, Catholic high school and Catholic hospital in the South Bay during the 1950s, Cardinal Mahony said, "I wonder if you don't have the gift of bilocation, for the amount of your activities leaves us breathless."

Schneiders said she was humbled to be in the company of the other honorees, and added she was sure that her husband "is smiling down on us tonight." As parents of 11 children, she noted, "we knew the importance of giving to Church and community, and I am so proud of my family's contributions to so many worthy causes."

To L.A. Dodgers' broadcaster Scully, the cardinal said, "We are so pleased the O'Malley family (previous owners of the Dodgers) brought you to California, and so proud of what you have meant to the game. We salute your great devotion to faith and family, the cornerstones of your life."

Scully paid honor to his wife Sandy --- "In the words of the song, she is truly the wind beneath my wings" --- and his fellow honorees. He also shared the story of meeting Pope Pius XII at the Vatican in 1956 --- noting that the pope, after having greeted and spoken warmly to the others in the small group gathered that Sunday morning in a private reception room, came to Scully and asked, "Are you with them?"

"And then," Scully recalled with a smile, "he moved on."

Chuckling that "maybe I am God's toy," the Hall of Fame broadcaster expressed his appreciation and congratulations to his fellow honorees. And, he smiled, "if someone asks, I'm with them."