Danville residents honored as Hometown Heroes

Two Danville residents were among 27 Bay Area community leaders to be honored as Hometown Heroes on Monday.

Dana Dornsife, founder of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation, and Diane Gilfether, director and founder of the Blackhawk Chorus, will be saluted by Bay Area News Group and Comcast for making a positive impact on their communities.

Dornsife’s brother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003. While looking for alternative treatments for him, she realized that her family was fortunate to afford the medical cost.

“It became clear to me that the people who had a larger checkbook were able to take advantage of the medical trails. I really felt that that was fundamentally wrong,” she said.

To aid those less fortunate, she established the Lazarex Cancer Foundation in 2006 and has helped more than 100 people pay for costs associated with clinical trials.

Praises will be sung for Gilfether, who founded the Blackhawk Chorus two decades ago with just a few members. The group has crescendoed into a renowned ensemble of 140 voices that perform all over the world.

The ceremony will be held under the rotunda in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in Oakland at 5:30. After cocktail hour, there will be a “graduation” ceremony where honorees will hear speeches from Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, District 14 Assemblymember Nancy Skinner and District 16 Assemblymember Sandre Swanson.

To learn more about the honorees, visit the Hometown Heroes website.