Houston has one of the largest communities of OEF/OIF veterans in the country. In order to promote wellness among these returning veterans, the Houston Wellness Association's Veterans Wellness Committee is hosting a Pasta Dinner Honoring Veterans on Friday, January 15, 2010 as part of its 2010 Wellness Symposium being held at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The Chevron Houston Marathon takes place on Sunday, January 17th. Dr. Samuel "Trip" Casscells isone of America's leading cardiologists, a prostate cancer survivor, and the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.   George Bush Grand Ball Room - George R. Brown Convention Center Keynote Speaker: Dr. Samuel Ward Casscells (Colonel USAR Retired)   Single_Ticket:__$25 Sponsorship Levels (click for details) Title_Sponsor: ___$10,000 Gold Sponsor: ____$5,000 Bronze Sponsor: __$1,000 _   ______   _________   Speaker Title/Company Description     Samuel W. Casscells, MD (Colonel USAR Retired) Assistant Secretary (Health Affairs), U.S. Department of Defense The Honorable S.Ward Casscells, MD is the Tyson Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Public Health, and Vice President for External Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Senior Scholar at the Texas Heart Institute. From April 2007 through April 2009 he served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) where he was credited with turning around a struggling $45bn health and education system with 137,000 employees, 10 million patients in 900 clinics and hospitals in 100 countries. The system is now #1 in most surveys of patient satisfaction. For this work Dr Casscells received the DOD's highest civilian award, the Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Surgeon General's Medallion from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Army's Distinguished Public Service medal, and the Order of Military Medical Merit. A colonel in the Army Reserve, Dr Casscells served in Iraq in 2006, earning the Joint Commendation Medal and honorary membership in the Iraqi Medical Regiment. He and his wife and three children are Texans, living in exile in Washington, DC.