Pier 21]</ref> During her fund-raising drives, Hitschmanova made appeals on radio and television. Thanks to her own journalism background, Hitschmanova knew what was needed to make a story and used this expertise to full advantage. Reporters and editors dubbed her "The Atomic Mosquito" because of her continuing success in getting good media coverage. The USC produced an annual film that portrayed her on her travels to inspect various projects. In 1972, the USC made a film called the USC Story created from film clips of the past 25 years. In 1970, Hitschmanova wrote a book entitled The USC Story: A Quarter Century of Loving Service by the Unitarian Service Committee about her experiences working for USC Canada. Through her fundraising efforts, between 1945 and 1984 the USC raised a total of $128,855,000. Honours Throughout the years, Dr. Hitschmanova received many awards, including the Gold Medal from the Cross of France (1950) and the Medal of St. Paul from Greece (1952). Other awards included the Canadian Centennial Medal; the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal; the Republic of Korea: Order of Civil Merit; Médaille de la Reconnaissance française; United Nations Headquarters Medal and the Decoration for Order and Peace, 1945-1949 from the Netherlands. These medals added rows of ribbons to her famous home-made uniform. In 1968 she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1979. Dr. Lotta, as she was known, became a symbol of personal dedication, and made the Unitarian Service Committee at its well-publicised address of 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario, a household name through her numerous radio and television ads. In 1982 she retired from her position as Executive Director due to ill health. Although she spent the final years of her life suffering from Alzheimer's disease, she succumbed to cancer. She died August 1, 1990. Legacy USC Canada, now called SeedChange, continues to operate in Ottawa at 56 Sparks Street. Since the early 2000s, SeedChange has been focusing its work on small-scale farmers in 12 countries, including Canada. Today, the mission of SeedChange is to "build food sovereignty by working with partners to enhance biodiversity, promote ecological food systems, and counter inequity." The organization does this by focusing on activities that build food and livelihood security for small-scale farmers and preserve the agricultural biodiversity necessary to feeding a growing and changing planet. Vernon Burrows, a renowned scientist specializing in