Receives Award for Spearheading Dragon Boat Team of Officers and At-Risk Youth
ORLANDO, Fla. (April 2012) – Andrea Eliscu, president and founder of Medical Marketing Inc., was recently honored by the Orlando Police Department with its “Good Citizenship Award” in recognition for her guidance and participation in the Orlando Police Department Dueling Dragon Boat team. The team, the first of its type in the history of the sport, was comprised of Orlando Police Department SWAT team officers and local at-risk youth. The award is presented to a member of the community for exemplary assistance to the Orlando Police Department and its employees.
Eliscu conceived of and spearheaded the development of this unique community initiative which launched in April 2011. The group paddled and practiced together over a four-month period, culminating with the team’s participation, first place finish in the Community Cup and second place finish in the open division of the 2011 Walgreens International Dragon Boat Festival at Walt Disney World in October.
“The initiative Andrea Eliscu brought to us has been invaluable to the police department, and we may never know just how much we influenced these kids’ lives,” said Orlando Police Department Lt. Dean Deschryver. “To know that you helped even one child would make it worthwhile.”
Dragon Boat racing is a team sport where 20 participants use paddles to race a boat through the water and across a finish line. Eliscu is a founding member of the Orlando Rowing Club-Dragon Boat Club (ORC-DBC). Since its first paddlers and club teams were organized in October of 2009, the Orlando Rowing Club (ORC) has worked in partnership with the Orlando Health Foundation to create the ORC-DBC. The club is dedicated to raising money for MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando. Since the club’s formation, dragon boating has quickly become one of the most popular and recreational sports in the Orlando community.
A registered nurse and medical marketing specialist, Eliscu founded Medical Marketing Inc., in 1984, and serves as its president. She has authored three books and has received numerous professional awards, including the 2011 “Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser” Award on National Philanthropy Day from the Central Florida Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the 2011 “Woman of Distinction” Award in Health and Wellness from the Girls Scouts of Citrus Council, finalist for the 2007 “Women Who Mean Business – Business Owner of the Year” award by the Orlando Business Journal, Outstanding Woman in Orlando Business, Most Innovative Small Business in Florida, Presidential Citation for Exemplary Service to the Healthcare Marketing Discipline and Friend of Medicine award. An active volunteer in the business community, Eliscu has served on the Council of Governors of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando and as an advisor to the College of Health and Public Affairs at the University of Central Florida. She has also served on the Lt. Governor’s Task Force for Education, and various boards, including the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Healthy Florida Foundation, Women Playing for T.I.M.E., Cornerstone Hospice, Florida’s Blood Centers and A Gift For Teaching.