Melissa Gilbert, actress best known for her role as Laura Ingalls Wilder on the hit show Little House on the Prairie, will be the keynote speaker at Tidewell Hospice’s 11th Annual Signature Luncheon, scheduled this coming February.

An acting career spanning 45 plus years, Melissa has starred in over 50 television movies and feature films, including “Stand By Your Man;” “Sweet Justice,” which she also executive produced; and “Secrets and Lies.” She is the youngest person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Melissa moved behind the camera as a director and continued acting on the screen and stage. She served two terms as the 23rdPresident of the Screen Actors Guild, two terms as Vice President on the AFL-CIO Executive Council and was Vice President of the California Labor Federation.

As a children’s hospice advocate, Melissa decided to “dedicate my life to ensuring that all chronically and terminally ill children get to live and die with gentleness, dignity and the grace that they deserve.”  She served as the President of the Board of Directors of Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition (CHPCC) beginning in 2007. In 2015, CHPCC joined The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC) to develop a united voice in public policy at the state and national level. Melissa received the Humanitarian Leadership Award in 2008 from the National Hospice Foundation in recognition for her work on behalf of children facing life-limiting conditions. For more information about the 11th Annual Tidewell Hospice Signature Luncheon, please call Aida Matic at 941-552-7660.