American Lung Association Named One of the Best for Benefits

A judge has named the American Lung Association’s national headquarters in New York one of the 2005 winners of The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security.

The program sponsored by the Principal Financial Group names the best companies with regard to employee benefits.

“The American Lung Association stood out among the competition and is a role model for providing the very best in employee benefits,” said Renee Schaaf, vice president at Principal in a press release.

Susan Reece stated also in the release that the Association should be proud of the benefits package that they have. Reece, vice president of Strategic Development, Leupold & Stevens, Inc., was a 2004 winner.

The national headquarters offers 93-97 percent employer-paid medical insurance, a pension plan, a 403(b) plan, and 100 percent employer-paid disability insurance. The Association also provides the benefits to its local chapters all across the country.

Principal is a leader in its industry.

On Sept. 21st the Association honored long-time advisor Michael P. Walsh who won a MacArthur Foundation Grant. He is a volunteer on clean air issues and was among 24 other grantees. Known as “genius grants” the Foundation awards each winner a grant of $500,000.

In a statement by the Association, John L. Kirkwood said that “Mr. Walsh has dedicated his career to pursuing clean air for people here in the U.S. and around the world.”

Kirkwood added in a released statement that because of Walsh’s efforts, people were breathing cleaner air.

The Association is requesting that parents and caregivers of those with lung disease share their story of how they survived Hurricane Katrina by emailing to webmaster@lungusa.org.

The agency is also providing a flu clinic locator online at its website which is something they do annually. It also lists flu tips, pointers, and preparation for the flu season facts. You can sign up online for the flu prevention newsletter at the Association’s website, lungusa.org.

The Association recently received a research honor called the Lung Cancer Discovery Award. They partnered with the LUNGevity Foundation to help researchers in the fight against lung cancer. The honor was started last year and shows a funding effort by both organizations. The goal of the project is to find resources for researchers investigating new treatments and a cure for lung cancer.

The Association’s goals also go beyond medical treatment.