The World Chiropractic Alliance announced the recipients of its annual Chiropractic Awards, given to honor individuals who have advanced the cause of chiropractic around the country and the world.

Several awards will be presented at the WCA meeting in January, held in conjunction with the Parker Seminar in Las Vegas. The rest will be given during the annual International Summit in Washington, D.C., May 1-3.

Fabrizio Mancini, D.C., who became the fifth president of Parker College of Chiropractic in April 2000, has successfully combined the traditions of our chiropractic past with the vision of chiropractic's future. As a protégé of Dr. James Parker, Dr. Mancini acquired a respect for the rich heritage of chiropractic and of the college he now leads. But he also brings with him the enthusiasm of youth (at 36, he was one of the youngest people to ever head a U.S. college) and has ushered the college, and Parker Seminars, into the new millennium with a heightened sense of promise and excitement.

Mancini, a native of Columbia, came to the United States when he was 12, knowing no English. But that didn't stop him from getting an education, excelling in school and becoming a doctor of chiropractic at the age of 24. Through countless classroom lectures, one lesson -- taught to him by Dr. Parker -- stood out: "Love your patients like your family."

As President of Parker College, Mancini took that admonition one step further and showed that he could also love his students like his family. They responded in kind, and his popularity on campus has become legendary. Few college presidents today seem able to generate the level of loyalty and respect afforded Mancini.

Of course, the students have reason to appreciate Mancini and the other members of the school administration. This year, Parker received an unusual and impressive evaluation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The accreditation review listed no suggestions or recommendations regarding necessary improvements to meet Association educational standards, a rarity among any type of college. The SACS committee also gave Parker three commendations for excellence in faculty dedication, information services and self-study evaluation and planning.

"Dr. Fabrizio Mancini's contributions to our profession extend far beyond the borders of his campus," stated Terry A. Rondberg, D.C., president of the World Chiropractic Alliance. "Whether sharing his vision with thousands of doctors at the Parker Seminar, or through personal contact with individuals throughout the world, he represents the best in all of us, the best in all of chiropractic. It is with great pride that we recognize him as the World Chiropractic Alliance 'Chiropractor of the Year.'"

In 2001, the World Chiropractic Alliance gave its Humanitarian award to Dr. Monte Greenawalt, in recognition of his life-long efforts to support chiropractic. But it is impossible to honor the father without also acknowledging and honoring his son.

Kent Greenawalt, who received an honorary doctor of chiropractic degree from Cleveland Chiropractic College of Kansas City in 1994, is president of Foot Levelers, Inc., which has donated millions of dollars to chiropractic colleges, established scholarships and endowments, funded research, and provided humanitarian and charitable aid to individuals and organizations.

After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack in the U.S., Foot Levelers launched a campaign that raised more than $100,000 for victims -- and then matched that amount from its own funds to bring the total to nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

In 2002, Foot Levelers celebrated its 50th Anniversary in a typically Greenawalt fashion: it gave a gift to the profession. Kent Greenawalt formed a foundation -- the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress -- to spearhead a major nationwide public awareness campaign for chiropractic.

Greenawalt summed up his philosophy earlier this year when he said, "We're extremely proud to have been part of this great profession for half a century ... We consider ourselves a service organization and we are dedicated to helping advance the chiropractic profession in any way we can."

"Kent Greenawalt has most assuredly followed in his father's footsteps," Dr. Rondberg noted. "But he's also made his own personal mark on this profession with a style of leadership that serves as a model for all others. His dedication and compassion aren't the only qualities that set him apart. He also has the business savvy needed to continue making Foot Levelers a major force in chiropractic and health. We applaud him, and thank him, for everything he has done."

One of the biggest criticisms leveled at chiropractic is that it is "unscientific." That accusation was made back in B.J.'s time, and it is still heard in the media and from those who would bar chiropractors from their rightful place in the health care field. Promoting chiropractic research -- particularly subluxation -- and making that research accessible to other health care professionals and the public is the challenge Matthew McCoy, D.C., tackled when he assumed the role of editor of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research.

Dr. McCoy, one of the founding members of the Council on Chiropractic Practice, knows that the first step in generating interest among non-chiropractors in chiropractic research, is to spark interest among D.C.s themselves. He recently shocked chiropractic by revealing that less than 10% of the profession subscribes to a peer-reviewed chiropractic research journal.

In addition to urging doctors to subscribe to research journals, McCoy encourages them to actually conduct research and submit research articles to those journals. Putting the job of research into the hands of 50,000 field doctors could have a tremendous impact on the profession.

"Practitioners must engage themselves in the process," he noted in an article in The Chiropractic Journal. "Too many graduate from chiropractic college, step into practice and leave behind any memory of scholarly activity. Each member of this profession needs to commit to participating in several research oriented activities every year."

By teaching doctors how to prepare case studies, editing and managing JVSR, and writing regular articles for various chiropractic publications, McCoy has also increased the visibility of chiropractic research.

A press release about a JVSR study on chiropractic and multiple sclerosis was accessed by reporters more than 2,000 times on an Internet news wire service. According to the wire service, the report generated nearly five times as much interest as the next most accessed report. McCoy received many calls and e-mails from reporters and health care providers.

"Clearly the interest in chiropractic goes far beyond its effectiveness in relieving back pain," he noted. "When we publish research showing how subluxations affect the nervous system, and how chiropractic adjustments may help the body function better, we get their attention."

McCoy, who received the WCA's 'Humanitarian of the Year' award in 1996, also serves as the chair of the organization's Chiropractic Advocacy Council. "We are very pleased to honor Dr. McCoy again this year," said Rondberg. "He continues to make a major contribution to the profession by increasing the awareness of scientific methodology and subluxation research. He has shown an uncanny ability to make research understandable, accessible, and practical."

In 1971, Joseph Flesia, D.C., wrote his statement of purpose: "I am dedicated to caring for (through regular chiropractic spinal adjustments) as many families as is humanly possible -- today and through their entire future life existence. This is a means and method by which humankind can alleviate itself to truly function in active harmony by achieving the best possible physical and mental health imaginable. Thereby allowing our world to be a better place to live in as it was designed."

In the 30 years since then, he has lived and practiced by that purpose, and helped thousands of other doctors do so as well. His appearance at chiropractic seminars -- often decked out in gladiator armor -- signaled that doctors were going to be in for an exciting and uplifting presentation by the man known as the foremost "Chiropractic Warrior."

Dr. Kevin Pallis said it best in an article for The Chiropractic Journal: "The world has been witness to the 'magical' cultures of the Egyptians, the Mayans, the Incas with their mathematics, astronomy and architectural wonders. Today's society, for all of its science and technology is still at a loss to explain these feats. Dr. Joe's vision with no geographical, ethnic, religious, or political boundaries was bigger than all of them. In fact, it was as large as life itself. Limitless, it held the promise of the unfolding of humanity that had only been philosophized about in the past."

As early as 1977, Dr. Flesia was producing innovative ideas and tools that would forever change the face of chiropractic education. His model of the phases of subluxation degeneration -- and the poster he created as a way to illustrate them -- helped alert patients to the dangers of allowing subluxation to go uncorrected. The poster quickly became a "best seller" and was found in more chiropractic offices than any other.

Flesia realized the key to helping patients was the doctor's ability to educate and motivate them. That's why he created chiropractic's first professionally produced lecture charts, as well as its first viable wellness office procedures. Suddenly, field doctors around the world had a practical tool for explaining the true purpose of chiropractic to their patients.

But his educational tools did more than merely teach. They gave chiropractic the credibility it so desperately needed after the prolonged attack by the medical establishment. The sight of well-known Hollywood celebrities such as Peter Graves, Jayne Kennedy, Lorne Greene and Tony Franciosa, talking about chiropractic at long last catapulted the profession into a new age of acceptability.

Just as the public responded to his innovations, the profession responded to and recognized his achievements, showering him with more than 550 plaques and certificates for his continuous advancement of the chiropractic profession. Yet, these mean less to him than the affection showered on him by individual doctors throughout the world.

Earlier this year, after it was announced that he was seriously ill, he received thousands of letters and e-mails from doctors whose lives were touched by him and his teachings.

Flesia once said, "When the time comes for me to pass the torch on to the next generation, my dream is that this legacy will live on and grow." In announcing the award, Dr. Rondberg said: "There is no doubt of that. His legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of all his students, colleagues and friends. Dr. Joe will always be part of chiropractic."

For the first time in its history, the World Chiropractic Alliance has announced an award for Special Recognition, to acknowledge the efforts made by an individual doctor in the promotion of subluxation-based chiropractic.

The award goes to Dr. Robert Pisanu, president of the Accademia Chiropractica in Italy. The organization has been instrumental in increasing the awareness of chiropractic among the Italian public, and in working with the Italian government to develop licensing laws that would protect the rights of both doctors and patients.

The name "Chiropractic Academy" was specifically chosen to reflect the purpose and composition of the group. A chiropractic association generally is limited to D.C.s, while an academy is normally open to all professionals and invites the free exchange of opinions, Dr. Pisanu explained.

In forming the group, he noted that "many Doctors of Chiropractic have expressed the need for a vitalistic and subluxation-based model of chiropractic to be represented here in Italy. We, too, are committed to perpetuating principled chiropractic in Italy and Europe." Pisanu has been extremely successful in working with the country's leadership and has forged numerous productive relationships with Italian government officials. His cousin, Giuseppe Pisanu, is Italy's interior minister.

"Italy is a key player in the European health care scene," noted Rondberg. "With nearly 58 million people, the need for subluxation care is evident. Without the dedication and work of chiropractors like Dr. Pisanu, these people may be deprived of the right to proper spinal care. By working with and educating his nation's legislators, he is making sure that subluxation correction, by licensed doctors of chiropractic, will be available to all people. It's a difficult task, and we are proud of the work he and his colleagues are doing."