Tuesday, March 10, 1998 | 9:51 a.m.
In the past decade, Nevada Power Co. Chairman Charles A. "Chuck" Lenzie has received numerous awards for his philanthropic deeds and volunteer work.
However, the honor he will receive Saturday night at the fourth annual American Diabetes Association's Reach for the Stars Gala Dinner at the Treasure Island hotel-casino will have special meaning for the 60-year-old corporate and civic leader.
Twenty years ago, Lenzie was diagnosed with adult-onset diabetes.
"This one is a real personal honor for me," said Lenzie, who came to Nevada from his native Illinois in 1974 to become financial vice president of the local electric company.
"I have been involved with the American Diabetes Association for some time now and so have my (five) kids. Thank God, none of them have diabetes."
Three years after coming to Las Vegas from Chicago, where he was an accountant, Lenzie was diagnosed with the incurable but controllable disease that is caused by the body's inability to break down sugar in the blood stream.
"It was during a routine annual physical that I was diagnosed as having diabetes," said Lenzie, who then had a blood sugar count of greater than 300. A person with a reading of 126 is considered to be a diabetic, medical experts say.
"So, I jogged, exercised and watched my diet. Getting diabetes is not the end of the world if you take steps to control it."
Lenzie will be honored at the fund-raising dinner that begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $180 per seat or $1,800 per 10-person table. Proceeds will go toward diabetes research and public awareness programs.
There are two types of diabetes: type I, the kind that usually develops at an early age and requires insulin injections because the pancreas is not producing insulin; or type II, the kind that usually strikes adults and is generally controlled by diet, exercise and some medications.
Lenzie, a type II diabetic, now requires mild doses of insulin as well as other medications that help control the disease that, if left unchecked, can be fatal.
"Mr. Lenzie has not only helped us through his philanthropy and his company, but also by being an excellent role model for our (diabetic) community," said Karen Wallace, board member of the local ADA chapter and its past chairman.
"Ultimately, tight control of type II diabetes will stave off the consequences of the disease, which include kidney failure, heart attacks, blindness, strokes and amputations."
Wallace said about 100,000 Nevadans have diabetes but, based on national trends, only about half of them have been screened and know they have the disease that is common among adults who are overweight or have a family history of diabetes.
Wallace, whose mother is a type II diabetic, noted that Lenzie is the second diabetic to receive a local ADA dinner in his honor. The first recipient, former Showboat hotel-casino President Frank Modica, also is a diabetic, she said.
Other past honorees include non-diabetics Don Snyder, executive director of the Fremont Street Experience, and George Hofmann, president of Nevada State Bank.
Lenzie grew up in Wilmington, Ill., a small farming community 60 miles south of Chicago. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting at the University of Illinois in 1960. After serving in the Army, he went to work as an accountant for Arthur Andersen & Co. in Chicago.
Five years after coming to Nevada Power, he was promoted to senior vice president. He became president in February 1983. Lenzie was elected chairman in April 1989 when Conrad "C.L." Ryan retired after 36 years with the utility company that today has about 1,800 employees and 50,000 shareholders.
Lenzie has served as a chairman or member of several civic organizations including the United Way, Las Vegas YMCA, Salvation Army, Boy Scouts of America and the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Among his many honors, Lenzie won the National Conference of Christians and Jews Community Hero Award in 1993 and the Multiple Sclerosis Hope Award last year.
Through it all, diabetes has not slowed him down, Lenzie says, noting, however, that bad knees have forced him to give up jogging. However, he still walks regularly and plays golf on Sundays.
"I hope the dinner is well-attended," he said. "It is for such a good cause."
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