David Ragan at National Shriners Convention in St. Louis

[Eileen]

NASCAR Sprint Cup series driver David Ragan will join his Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion show car in the Washington Lobby of America’s Center in St. Louis on Tuesday, July 1. He will sign autographs and pose for photographs with fans between 12:30 and 2 pm.

Ragan, a rising star on NASCAR’s top circuit, is in town to announce his relationship with Shriners of North America and their official philanthropy, Shriners Hospitals for Children. Thousands of Shriners, along with family and friends, will gather in St. Louis for the 134th Imperial Council Session June 29 to July 3.

Shriners Hospitals for Children is a one-of-a-kind international health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing specialty pediatric care, innovative research and outstanding teaching programs. Children up to the age of 18 with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate are eligible for admission and receive all care in a family-centered environment – at no charge – regardless of financial need.

[Eileen]

The Shriners parade is this evening beginning at 7 p.m. The parade begins at Olive and 14th and ends just west of Union Station.

Today at the 134th Imperial Council Session of Shriners International, held in downtown St. Louis, NASCAR Sprint Cup star David Ragan announced that he will make a donation to the Shriners, pursue membership with the fraternity, visit hospitals, and help raise awareness and funds for their 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children. Ragan drives the Roush-Fenway No. 6 AAA Ford Fusion car.

Thursday the Shriners will host a ceremonial groundbreaking for their new St. Louis Shriners Hospital to be built on the campus of Washington University School of Medicine. The groundbreaking will be held at the corner of Clayton and Newstead. Construction on the $170 million facility is expected to begin in the spring of 2009 and be completed in 2012. An entire floor of the new building will be dedicated to scientific research to maximze the hospital's and the Washington University School of Medicine's shared interest in investigating musculoskeletal conditions. This moves the Shriners Hospital closer to the resources of the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Children's Hospital, as well as the other facilities of the BJC Healthcare organization.

Tomorrow Douglas Maxwell of Chesterfield, MO will be installed as Imperial Potentate (president and CEO) of Shriners International. He will be the highest-ranking Shriner in the world and serving his eleventh term as a member of the Board of Directors for both the Shriners fraternity and Shriners Hospitals for Children.