And the 2016 Health Hero Is … Sue Weldon! 

We think a round of applause is in order.

That's Sue Weldon smack-dab in the middle!

That’s Sue Weldon smack-dab in the middle!

It’s official, folks! You, dear readers, have chosen the 2016 Health Hero Challenge winner! Last night, we announced the winner at our annual end-of-contest party at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. There were lots of smiles, a few tears (happy tears, that is) and so, so much inspiration flowing through the room to celebrate all of our 2016 Health Hero Challengers, along with past semifinalists and winners, all of whom are behind wonderful programs that are helping to make Philadelphia a healthier, happier place to be.

For the past few months, you guys have been voting to show your support for your favorite of our Health Hero Challengers. First, you all narrowed it down from our 16 semifinalists to our four finalists: Amy Reed, founder of Slay Sarcoma Research Initiative Inc, Sue Weldon, founder and president of Unite for HER, Drew Bergman, mental health advocate with Minding Your Mind, and Dr. Hans Kersten, pediatrician at St. Christopher’s Hospital and hunger fighter.

Our four finalists were competing to win a $10,000 donation from Philadelphia magazine and our Challenge sponsor Independence Blue Cross, to be given to the charity of their choice. Okay, okay, enough with the suspense already — time to tell you who won. Drumroll, please! After all the votes came in, the winner of our fifth annual Health Hero Challenge was Sue Weldon!

Let’s give a big round of applause to Sue Weldon and all of our Health Heroes. You can check out Sue’s acceptance speech below (she takes the stage around the 18-minute mark). Until next year!

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