Willene Grant honored at Founders’ Society Dinner

The Elbert Memorial Hospital Foundation held its 6th annual Founders’ Society Dinner on Thursday, April 30, at the beautiful farm of John and Penny McLanahan. Former EMH Director of Nursing Willene Grant was honored with a special presentation during the program. (Pictured, L- R, Hospital CEO Tom Brown, Mrs. Grant, her son and daughter-in-law Bill and Melissa Grant and her son-in-law and EMH Foundation Chair Gary Jones. Her daughter, Anna Grant Jones, was unable to attend.)

Lynn H. Blackmon, President and CEO of Brayco Inc., made a generous donation to the Foundation in honor of Mrs. Grant, under whom she had worked as a nurse at EMH before going into the nursing home industry. The funds will go toward the program of Mrs. Grant’s choice, the EMH Auxiliary Scholarship Endowment.

“During my employment at the hospital, I watched and listened to how she handled different situations with not only the staff, but with the patients and their families, and the physicians. I learned so much from her,” Mrs. Blackmon said in a letter read during the dinner program by EMH Foundation Executive Director Nancy Seymour.

“I learned how to stand up for what you believe in without being unethical or unfair,” Mrs. Blackmon’s letter continued. “I learned how to be firm, yet compassionate, and how to recognize that each individual and each situation is unique, and should be handled accordingly … I carried with me all the things that I had learned while watching Mrs. Grant and put them into place.” Foundation Chair-Elect Jerri Rucker invested the following new members into the Founders’ Society: Brooks and Kim Arnold, Massoud Besharat, Tom and Susie Brown, Mary and John Clark, Joyce Davis, Eliam United Methodist Church, Martha and Clyde Hewell, Jimmy and Susan Hill, Connie and Martha Ivester, Dr. Kelly and Kimberly Ivester, Pari and Mo Mehrabi, Petersburg Towers, Abe and Debbie Plummer and John H. Turner Construction. Founders’ Society members have made “everlasting gifts” in support of the mission of the Foundation. Rucker said the Founders’ Society now includes 180 members. The Founders’ Endowment and 19 named endowments have received $1,065,000 in cash and pledges. The Foundation’s assets now total more than $1,280,000.

In welcoming the large crowd to the dinner, Foundation Chair Gary Jones noted the setting for the evening is the home of the grandson of the first chairman of the Elberton-Elbert County Hospital Authority, John J. McLanahan. The McLanahan family has provided almost 60 years of solid support for EMH.

Hospital Authority Chair Ken Taylor thanked all Founders’ Society members for making EMHF the charity of their choice and made special note of the current “Renovate a Room” campaign’s success. “Who would have thought in less than a year in this economy, the Foundation could raise $250,000!” he said.

Hospital CEO Tom Brown told the group he continues “to be amazed at the community’s generous support” and thanked “the many volunteers who have worked so hard to make the Foundation so successful.”

After the invocation by Daniel Graves, a delicious barbecue dinner prepared by Foundation Board member Sydonna Harden and her husband, chef Lou Harden, was served.

Founders’ Society – Membership

Individuals interested in becoming members of the Founders’ Society of Elbert Memorial Hospital Foundation understand that they are making “everlasting gifts” in support of the Mission of the Foundation. For more information, call 706-213-2558.

Your future health care needs, along with the needs of your loved ones, depend upon community support for Elbert Memorial Hospital Foundation. Annual gifts to the Foundation are a wonderful way to insure continued quality health care for our community.

Won’t you start this year by making a gift at one of the following giving levels? This is a grand way to meet the health care challenges of tomorrow for Elbert Memorial Hospital.

• Bronze $75.00
• Silver $150.00
• Gold $250.00
• Platinum $500.00
• Granite $1,000.00
• Other $1,000.00+

Donations may be made online by going to the Foundation’s Online Donation Giving page. Or you may send your check to the Elbert Memorial Hospital Foundation Office at 4 Medical Drive, Elberton, Georgia 30635.