2008 Lewis Hine Award presented to: Road Recovery Founder, Gene Bowen, In Recognition of Outstanding Service on Behalf of Children and Youth By the National Child Labor Committee.
In February, 1992, Gene Bowen was faced with the reality of imminent death from an out-of-control habit. For ten years, he had been a tour manager for a variety of artists. Since 1982, Gene’s daily routine included obtaining drugs not only for himself, but for many of the international artists and road crews with whom he worked and toured. Ironically, he was also responsible for helping particular artists stay "clean."
With the help of family, friends and music industry colleagues, Gene was one of the lucky ones who embraced recovery. Understanding how lucky he was to survive, Gene set out to build an organization to educate young people about addiction and other adversities in hopes of helping them find their way towards a healthy and happy future. He looked to publicize the many strengths and resources available from the music/entertainment industry and the mental health field.
With the support of Sony Music Entertainment and Dreamworks Records, as well as mental health/substance abuse specialists, entertainment industry professionals who faced their own personal adversities, the ROAD RECOVERY FOUNDATION, a non-profit (501c) organization, was established in February 1998.
