Monday, March 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Sen. Richard Bryan and his wife, Bonnie, have been attending WestCare annual dinners for many years.
When asked to be the guests of honor at this year's dinner, the Bryans gladly accepted. However, they view the graduates of WestCare's substance abuse treatment programs as the real heroes.
"This is not about us -- it is about the people who are trying to get their lives back together," said Bryan, D-Nev., noting that his speech at the organization's 13th annual dinner Sunday at the Riviera hotel-casino will be little more than a brief thank you.
Bryan, Nevada's governor from 1983-89, said such speaking time is better reserved for the testimonials of those who know what it is like to crawl out of life's deepest gutters.
"When you listen to these people, you come away with a whole new perspective," said Bryan, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1988, and also served in the state Assembly (1968-72) and state Senate (1972-78).
"The use of drugs has reached endemic proportions in this country and recent reports show that drug use is up among our very young.
"Those who will speak at the dinner will talk of the despair they had to deal with. For many this program was their last resort. Yet some have gone back to school, got promotions at work -- turned their lives around -- and are now drug free."
WestCare, which started in 1973, is a private, nonprofit agency devoted to the prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse.
It is the largest program of its type in the state, handling more than 21,000 cases each year involving adult victims of substance abuse, high-risk youth and families in crisis.
WestCare, which operates programs in Nevada, Arizona and California, provides assistance through its adult services, pregnant/postpartum program, runaway shelter, youth and family services and detoxification program and facility.
Other services include the Harris Springs Ranch long-term rehabilitation facility, transitional living program and other projects that are integrated with various community agencies.
WestCare receives local, state and federal government funding. More than 30 percent of its funding comes from private donations, corporations and foundations.
The list of WestCare's past honorees is impressive.
Aniela and Paul Endy Jr., who have made numerous contributions to WestCare programs, were honored at last year's annual fund-raising dinner. Paul Endy founded Paul-Son Gaming Supplies, the nation's largest manufacturer of gaming tables, betting chips and dice.
In 1995, Louis Wiener Jr., then an attorney, co-owner of KVBC Channel 3 and WestCare board member, was honored as "man of the year." He died last year.
In 1994, WestCare honored Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, a longtime supporter of WestCare programs.
The stories told by WestCare graduates often leave the honorees with a lump in their throats.
For example, there was the 18-year-old heroin addict who told how his addict father filled his first needle for him for his 8th birthday.
There have been mothers who told of how drug use resulted in their children being taken away by the state and that the only way they could get them back was by completing WestCare's program.
"The circumstances in each life is different," said Bryan, who also has served as Nevada's attorney general and as a Clark County public defender. "But each of them became addicted to drugs and alcohol and have survived to tell of the destructive impact of substance abuse."
Tickets for the event that starts at 6 p.m. are $80 a person. For reservations, call 385-2090.
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