Auxiliary Hopes to Pledge $1 Million for New Hospital at Snow Ball

Among those attending the Snow Ball are WMHS officials (from left) Tom Dowdell, vice president of operations; Karen Johnson, executive director of the WMHS Foundation; Janice Hare, WMHS Auxiliary president; Louise Brelsford, WMHS Auxiliary vice president; and Barry Ronan, WMHS president and CEO. (Photo credit: Steve Bittner/Times-News)

Aptly named Golden Beginnings, Saturday night's gala celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Snow Ball and the beginning of the newly created Western Maryland Health System Auxiliary's efforts to raise money for the health system's new hospital on Willowbrook Road.

A crowd of more than 400 gathered to enjoy the festivities and hear WMHS Auxiliary president Janice Hare promise the organization's support for the new hospital. The Auxiliary Board will be asking its membership to approve its recommendation of a $1 million pledge to the capital campaign for the new healthcare facility.

"Over the past five years, more than $850,000 was donated to WMHS by the two hospital auxiliaries," explained Hare. "We will be asking the full membership at the spring meeting to support making $1 million pledge toward the future of healthcare in our community. The members' widespread support is anticipated. The prospect of a new state-of-the-art hospital for our region is so exciting that we believe we have the momentum to surpass our previous fundraising efforts."

The Auxiliary's first major fundraiser was a tremendous success, with proceeds expected to exceed $85,000, a record-setting amount for the Snow Ball.

The hope of a $1 million pledge from the WMHS Auxiliary was greeted with delight by Karen Johnson, Executive Director of the WMHS Foundation, who is directing the capital campaign for the new hospital.

"This enormous pledge will be a perfect representation of the mission of the auxiliary, which is to advance the welfare of the health system," said Johnson. "It reminds us of the millions of dollars raised by the Memorial and Sacred Heart Auxiliaries over the years and is a great way to celebrate the 50th Snow Ball and the first year of the combined WMHS Auxiliary. Surely it is a gift to all the people in the region in the form of better health care for everyone."