Opinion: Dr. Wil Blechman’s child advocacy honored with Chiles Award

We are pleased to announce that Wil J. Blechman, M.D., child advocate extraordinaire, is the 2018 Chiles Advocacy Award recipient, presented at the Children’s Week Dinner Monday evening.

Dr. Wil has taught us so many lessons, but the most important is simply this: Know what you’re talking about and take every opportunity to have your say. Advocacy is all about using our voices for good.

A Washington, D.C. native, Blechman is a graduate of Yale University and the Medical College of Virginia. He trained at Johns Hopkins Hospital prior to entering into a private practice of rheumatology in Miami in 1961.

After a 33-year medical practice (he described as “mostly attending to the aches and pains of the aging – arthritis, neuritis, neuralgia”) he began learning from several of his Miami patients about the needs of young children — emotional, educational and economic.

A scientist at heart, Blechman invested considerable energies researching the needs of young children, interviewing scores of experts and visiting clinics, model programs and attending conferences to help formulate his belief of the importance of healthy childhoods.

He retired from medical practice in 1994 to devote his efforts to focus on advocating for young children and explaining their developmental needs to policymakers, business leaders, civic organizations and, as he said “anyone who will listen and act on the message.”

As an active club member and leader in Kiwanis, having already served as Governor of the Florida District, he ascended to the hierarchy of Kiwanis International, the civic service organization with special interests in the well-being of the world’s children.

During his service as International President of Kiwanis, Blechman launched the landmark Young Children Priority One initiative — a clarion call for investing wisely in the future of our children. His message had been heard in every corner of the world. 

Among his civic and professional service investments have been the Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade, the Florida Children’s Forum, Florida Association for Infant Mental Health and the Lawton Chiles Foundation.

Blechman, now in his mid-80s, continues to promote health, safety, early education and quality care for a generation of children who need us to be strong advocates for their successful futures.

One of Blechman’s credos is rooted in the words of James Baldwin: ”For they are all our children … we will profit by or pay for whoever they become.”

And as we all know, that work must endure for today’s and every day’s 425 Florida newborns — that’s 11,200 every day in the U.S. and 350,000 in the world. Every one of us is obligated to advocate on their behalf.

Blechman is one of Florida’s true citizen heroes. His advocacy is driven by the three P’s…passion, persuasion and persistence. He personifies the adage, "Where there’s a Wil, there’s a way!"

Ted Granger represents the United Way of Florida. Jack Levine represents the 4Generations Institute.