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Betty Ford Center Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Events start Friday morning and will be held at the Rancho Mirage facility and in other locations around the Coachella Valley.

The Betty Ford Center expects hundreds of alumni from around the world at its 30th anniversary celebration this weekend, center officials said.

Events start Friday morning and will be held at the Rancho Mirage facility and in other locations around the Coachella Valley.

The weekend will honor former first lady Betty Ford, who founded the center in 1982 and died last year, and will celebrate recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, according to the center's website.

Activities will run from 7:30 a.m. Friday through noon Sunday.

On Friday, a golf tournament will be held at Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, a sculpture of Ford will be dedicated and a fireworks display will conclude the day.

Saturday is the annual "State of the Center" talk, followed by presentations by experts on several topics.

The center's anniversary reception and banquet are Saturday night at the Renaissance Esmeralda resort in Indian Wells. A yoga class and brunch are available Sunday morning.

Events are planned for people treated at clinic's children's program and 12-step meetings for family members and alumni of the treatment programs.

After completing treatment for chemical dependency at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Long Beach, Ford and friend Leonard Firestone, a Firestone tire board member and U.S. ambassador to Belgium, founded the nonprofit center in Rancho Mirage in 1982.

Almost 100,000 people have been treated at the center since it was founded, according to its website.

For information or to register, call (760) 636-5985.

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
B.K. Holthaus May 16, 2013 at 06:05 pm
You';re welcome, Renee but I don't really expect thanks for my contributions to the classroom. IRead More wasn't going to stand by and see kids not have the basic things they needed to get through the class and most teachers are of the same mind :) Sadly, school budgets have never covered all the needs in classrooms.
Renee Schiavone (Editor) May 16, 2013 at 02:15 pm
@B.K.-- Thank you for your help with the community :) I have a great respect for all teachers!
B.K. Holthaus May 16, 2013 at 12:56 pm
I was a teacher for 30 years. There was not ONEschool year when I didn't personally pay for schoolRead More supplies for my students ($500-$1,500 a yr)
Eye on the Desert March 3, 2013 at 11:26 pm
Well said, Linda.
linda hanna March 3, 2013 at 10:01 pm
Dorothy you actually believe criminals can't get guns without a background check. Wow are youRead More naive. Just because YOU don't understand why some people want a particular weapon...does not mean you can impose your ownership standards on someone else. Suppose I suggest you don't need the particular car you drive or the particlar beverage you drink? I see you are opposed to hunting. How do you feel about abortion? Typical liberal double standard at play here??
linda hanna March 3, 2013 at 09:57 pm
Totally agree. This is just the beginning of a gun grab. All it will accomplish is furtherRead More restrictions on law abiding citizens. Chicago is a perfect example. Strictest gun control in the nation and highest gun crime and murder rate. Criminals do not comply with the law. Only legal citizens will lose their rights to own the weapon of their choice. Liberals are all about choice when it comes to killing an unborn, but when it comes to a lawful gunowner's choice it's a different story altogether.