St. Mary's Foundation Charity Ball Raises $435,000

Rogers, AR (December 6, 2006) - Bigger was definitely better for the St. Mary's Hospital Foundation Charity Ball and Auction held on December 2.

When the pledges, donations and auction money were totaled from the 13th annual event, a net profit of $435,000 had been raised to benefit future projects and fund charity care at St. Mary's Hospital.

The net profit of $435,000 was more than double the $215,000 that was raised in 2005. In 2004, $185,000 was raised from the event.

"We could not have been more pleased by the outcome of this year's Charity Ball – an outcome that certainly owes a lot to our gracious hosts for the evening, Lee and Linda Scott," Ellison said. "Our greatest hopes and expectations were exceeded in every facet by the extraordinary generosity from the best Northwest Arkansas has to offer. And at the end of the day, everyone wins because this money will be put to use for the betterment of the entire community."

The evening lived up to its billing as the premier social event in northwest Arkansas, as the Foundation welcomed 1,300 guests – including Arkansas governor-elect Mike Beebe and Congressman John Boozman – dressed in black-tie attire into the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers. This was the first year for the event to be hosted in this venue, which allowed the Foundation to host 500 more guests than last year and set an attendance record for the Charity Ball.

Hundreds of items were donated for use in the silent and live auctions.

David Matthews reprised his role as auctioneer during the always entertaining live auction portion of the event where nine items were sold for nearly $90,000.

In another annual tradition, Dick Trammel asked guests to participate in the "Dickey Ray Club," an effort to raise a set amount of money in a set period of time to be used for a very specific project. This year, Dickey Ray's goal was to raise $10,000 in ten minutes with the money being used to help St. Mary's Hospital purchase equipment for Mercy SafeWatch – an electronic intensive care program (eICU®) that is being deployed to hospitals across the Mercy system. eICU technology, provided by VISICU, Inc., enables off-site critical care physicians and nurses to provide around-the-clock support to hospital-based ICU staff through the use of remote voice, video and data monitoring tools and early warning software.

But just after 10 minutes Saturday night, $55,500 was raised from the Dickey Ray Club. It was just another example of the commitment that leaders in Northwest Arkansas have for improving the medical technology available in the region.

Top sponsors for the event included:

• Lee and Linda Scott
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
• Cliff & Ladonna Hays & Family
• Scott Paper
• Celebrate Magazine
• Tyson Foods
• Coca-Cola Enterprises
• General Mills
• PepsiCo
• Kraft Foods
• Sisters of Mercy Health System

"The resplendent evening made a definite impression on our guests, some of whom compared it with the best Hollywood parties and presidential inaugural balls," said Linda Gaston, Special Events and Annual Giving Coordinator for St. Mary's Hospital Foundation. "The food was wonderful, and the band was great; but it wouldn't have been a first-rate evening without the help of all of our volunteer committee members." Gaston cited the leadership of honorary Charity Ball Hosts Lee and Linda Scott, auction committee chair Kathy McClure, food committee chair Martha Bergant, the sponsorship committee, and decoration chair Jo Chastain and co-chair Lizzie Harris as especially instrumental to the success of the event.

St. Mary's Hospital Foundation is the fundraising arm of Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas, a not-for-profit faith-based health system that provides healthcare services to residents in Northwest Arkansas and Southwest Missouri. The System includes St. Mary's Hospital, The Gardens at Osage Terrace Assisted Living Facility and Mercy Medical Clinics in 22 locations throughout northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri. Mercy is currently constructing a state-of-the-art medical campus just east of Interstate 540 off of New Hope Road in southwest Rogers. When completed in January 2008, the campus will include a 350,000-square-foot medical center with 200 beds and a medical office building to accommodate 90 physicians.