I would like to welcome our new Foundation Board and thank Sam Sabaugh for his great leadership during his term as Chair. I would like to welcome Laura Foley as our new Chair of our Board. Laura most recently co-chaired our Healthy Food and Good Wine event with David Cimpl, her husband along with Dr. Norm and Jill Bamber.
Sam Sabough shared:
This may sound more like a rah-rah speech from a coach instead of a reflection. I want all of you to think of a time when you competed in a sport. I think that sport touches all our lives in one way or another. Each of us competes throughout life. We are challenged to be good providers, good shepherds, good leaders and good parents. And sport is about competition and more importantly, personal achievement. There is always personal and collective satisfaction when competing. It teaches us valuable lessons about life.
You don't have to be an athlete or athletic to admire the work ethic, the dedication and the risks of high school, college and professional athletes. As they move up the chain in sports, the personal responsibility and the devotion increases.
In sports and in life, it takes practice and hard work to achieve your personal goals or objectives. Some athletes, just like non-athletes, are gifted, but they still require the discipline and the dedication to reach the pinnacle of their talents.
Take for example the marathon runner. A marathoner doesn't just show up for a race. It takes daily training at different distances and varied paces for months. It's a grueling workout to prepare for a 26-mile event. There is a daily training regimen up to the day of the race. Even though the preparation requires supreme dedication, it doesn't guarantee that the runner will win or even finish the race.
Failure to succeed in sports can be compared to a setback in life. Sometimes the stigma associated with losing never goes away. It's haunting and it may take years to relieve the horrible feeling of loss. But the majority of athletes understand there can be only one winner, so the chance of being the "best" or "Number One" motivates them to continue the process of improvement.
There are guarantees in sports or in life. The outcomes can be unpredictable, and sometimes very surprising.
Our lives are unpredictable and sometimes puzzling, but we learn from each situation and it helps us move forward. Hopefully, it will teach us more about ourselves and how far we can push ourselves to succeed. Oftentimes we surprise ourselves with accomplishments that seem unreachable. The definition of success is different for everyone, in life and in sports.
Ask any athlete about competition and they can usually tell you about the close games in their careers. It's a personal thrill after giving your best effort.
Although we strive to succeed, winning is not always the result. Believe me, sometimes the best outcome in life and sport is "failure." If you haven't experienced failure, you haven't lived, because failure is how we learn (just ask any .300 hitter in major league baseball).
Disappointments define the character of a person. It's not how many times you fall, but the number of times you get up and keep plugging away. That takes stamina, determination and perseverance. Whenever somebody says that you "can't," a little switch goes off that motivates us to show somebody that "we can."
I heard an interview with a successful businessman. During the interview he was asked, "How did you become so successful?"
"Good decisions," he answered.
Then he was asked, "How did you make good decisions?"
"Experience," he replied.
"How do you get experience?" he was finally asked.
"Bad decisions."
By serving on the St. Joe Foundation, we are not asking you to choose between winning and losing. We are asking you to compete and to work hard on behalf of the hospital and the community.
Your membership on this board is set up to be a positive and a productive experience. Everybody wins in this game. When you give an honest effort to help this hospital, the hospital wins, the patients win, the physicians and nurses win, the community wins and you win. You win because there is no better feeling than being asked to help and then to succeed. You have joined a winning team, but it takes a committed effort from every player to continue a winning program.
Winners have positive thoughts and look forward to new challenges.
Everybody has a special talent. Some people can run fast, some can hit, some can shoot, some can rebound and some can play defense. As a member of our team, we are depending on your expertise and your practical experience. Don't be intimidated to ask questions or to volunteer answers. You have been asked to participate, not to ride the bench.
We all have something in common: our commitment to St. Joe. Before you walk away from this board, leave your legacy. Be proud of what you accomplished. Be certain you gave 100%. Nothing less and nothing more is expected. Your time on this board will come and it will go. You will be thanked for your time, but only you will know if you phoned in your performance or prepared yourself to finish the race.
Think like a winner. Every opportunity is another chance to compete. If you maintain your vision for St. Joe, then everybody wins (including you).
I will conclude my reflection with one last cliché that I picked up during my career regarding "success." Success is getting what you want and Happiness is wanting what you get!
Everyone here deserves to enjoy success and happiness.
God bless you, God bless your families and God bless St. Joe Medical Center.
Dorene Shipley, our Foundation Executive Director Shared:
Last year was my first experience with the Missioning Ceremony at St Joseph.
It’s a wonderful time to stop and reflect on the important role that you play in our mission and the commitment that you will make to be a part of this board.
Serving on this board will give you the opportunity to become involved in the mission, vision and values of SJMC. You’ll be asked in a variety of ways to:
Come to know the importance of compassionate, quality healthcare that is safe and leaves no one behind, Financially support our goals, Open doors and encourage others to get involved
Be our advocates and ambassadors, Manage the investments of the foundation, allowing it to grow so that we can continue to give back, Provide governance, direction and leadership
But the real question for today is WHY are you here? And there are probably lots for reasons:
You want to give back to your community
You want to make a difference
You want to grow and develop your strengths,
You may feel that you can add value to the organization
You believe in what we do at St Jo & want to be a part it
Serving on this board allows all those items I just mentioned to be possible - but the real reason you are here is because of the patients that come to us for exceptional care. You want to make a difference in their lives.
Fundraising is never an end in itself: it is purposeful. It draws both its meaning and essence from the ends that are served. Fund raising is values based, values must guide the process, it must serve the larger cause.
This year, the Foundation’s cause included $366,000 of financial support.
Of that $55,000 went toward patients who could nor pay their medical bills
$12,000 was used to support for our employees in time of crisis
Funding was granted for Healthy Beginnings so that Mom’s & newborns get off on the right start. You Provided $18,000 in continuing education to the Staff
and purchased about $250,000 in equipment for the breast center, GI, cardiac & neurosurgery and the ICU.
You also helped raise over $500,000 and wisely managed the funds to earn over $1M.
But you do all of that, so that at the end of the day you can say that you have made a difference in someone’s life. That you have lightened the burden for someone and made it just a little bit better for them. You’ve created a better outcome in their care.
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