St. Luke's Magic Valley Health Foundation Celebrates
2009 Legacy Society Members

St. Luke's Magic Valley Health Foundation donors gathered on Tuesday evening, April 7th, for the annual Legacy Society Dinner to receive a well-deserved "thank you" for their generosity. Each Legacy Society donor has given accumulative gifts of $1,000 to the St. Luke's Magic Valley Health Foundation. These donors directly enhance health care in the Magic Valley; their donations to the Foundation create scholarships for deserving health care students, provide medication to low-income patients, and enhance medical equipment in the hospital.

(Read more about the Legacy Society)

The Legacy Society dinner was underwritten by Reynolds Funeral Chapel and included an address by St. Luke's Magic Valley Hospital Board Chair Cindy Collins, who spoke about the new hospital's impact on the Magic Valley community; CEO Mark Schwartz reviewed the new hospital's building phases with Legacy guests. Grant recipients Samuel H. Roundy, RN; ER Team Leader Susan Baisch, RN BSN; Mountain States Tumor Institute's Executive Director Mark Lopshire; and Sherri Tolley, ASCP all spoke briefly about the impact of Foundation grants upon their lives.

Recognition awards were presented by Capital Campaign Assistant, Julie Blick, to this year's Award winners. (See "Recognition Awards" below)

The evening closed with a brief update from Rebecca Southwick, Events Coordinator, on upcoming 2009 events including the new May 8th fundraiser, "A Kid Again", the 18th annual Epicurean Evening and the 25th Festival of Trees.

Over the past 20 years, gifts to the Foundation from individuals, organizations and businesses have generated more than $6 million dollars. The compassion that these donors exhibit by giving their time and their money to the Foundation makes the Magic Valley a healthier place to live.

The Foundation, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization, and a registered corporation with the State of Idaho. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors who focus on the Foundation's vision of enhancing the community's health care through philanthropy.

For more information concerning the Foundation or the Legacy Society, please contact Larry W. Baxter, CFRE, Foundation Executive Director, at 737-2480.

Recognition Awards

Small Business Supporters of the Year
Westerra Real Estate Group, Inc. and Federation Pointe, LLC

The owners of Westerra Real Estate Group and Federation Pointe share the same interests of supporting people in need and promoting a positive image for our community.

Together they’ve generously given more than $63,000 since 1998 to sponsor St. Luke’s Magic Valley Health Foundation. Most notably, from 2006 to 2008, Westerra was the lead sponsor of the Perrine Bridge Festival. The Festival draws BASE jumpers from all over the world, and raises funds for children with special needs in our community. 

Contributions from Westerra and Federation Pointe have provided medical equipment and treatment for Magic Valley children and families unable to afford care. In addition, Federation Pointe donated $10,000 to the local arts council for “The Twins” sculpture that is part of the Twin Falls Art in Public Spaces campaign.

Westerra Real Estate Group members include Fran Florence, Jeff Blick, Steve Di Lucca, Rick Giesler, R.G. Messersmith, and Clay Nannini. Federation Pointe members are Fran Florence, Jeff Blick, Steve Di Lucca, Rick Giesler,Gary Koutnik, Mike McBride, and Richard Stivers.

Large Business Supporter of the Year

Gregg and Sallee Middlekauff

Middlekauff Automotive Group

Since arriving in Twin Falls in 2000, the Middlekauff Automotive Group has given more than $64,000 to hospital projects through St. Luke’s Magic Valley Health Foundation. Not only do owners Gregg and Sallee Middlekauff support the Magic Valley community’s health care, but they donate their personal time and their staff’s support to a number of service groups throughout the area.

Sallee serves on the St. Luke’s Magic Valley Health Foundation Executive and Development committees, and also contributes many hours to several Foundation event committees. St. Luke’s truly appreciates the willingness of the Middlekauffs and the Middlekauff Automotive Group to share their time, expertise, and resources to strengthen the health of the Magic Valley and surrounding communities.

Outstanding Hospital Volunteers of the Year
Lois Anderson and Ruth Chase

Lois Anderson	Ruth Chase

Both Lois Anderson, Occupational Health office coordinator, and Ruth Chase, St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) New Patient representative, are greatly valued by the St. Luke’s hospital family and St. Luke’s Magic Valley Health Foundation.

Lois has donated her time and money to the Foundation since 1989, and Ruth has been involved with the Foundation’s employee campaigns since 2003. Lois and Ruth are always willing to help wherever needed to ensure that the Annual Hospital Campaign is successful. They have collected donation cards, delivered donor gifts, helped organize publicity, and even baked homemade goodies for door prizes.

Their “can-do” attitudes and willingness to undertake any task, no matter how small, are always accompanied by smiles. The Foundation is humbled by their tireless energy and commitment to enhancing the health care of our Magic Valley patients – year after year.

Denise Young

Outstanding Event Volunteer of the Year
Denise Young

Denise Young has been involved with the Foundation since the 2002 Festival of Trees. Through the years, in spite of working and completing her LPN (licensed practical nurse) degree, she has decorated and donated 15 trees and other items for the annual holiday event.

The Foundation can always count on Denise to decorate event venues ranging from old storefronts to event centers, and to work all day long. She also helps host many of the events and stays to help clean up afterwards. At last year’s Festival, she helped tear down and load the Foundation’s Christmas décor into a truck while wearing her evening clothes! Because of her quiet generosity, the Festival of Trees gets better with each passing year.

Anita Burdick

Outstanding Foundation
Board Member of the Year
Anita Burdick

For more than nine years, Anita Burdick has supported the Foundation’s mission to improve our community’s health care needs through her generous donations of time and financial resources. Anita not only serves on the St. Luke’s Magic Valley Health Foundation Board of Directors, but takes time off from work annually to organize and oversee Seniors’ Day at the Festival of Trees.

As a busy mom and the general manager of BridgeView Estates, Anita has also chosen the Foundation as one of her priorities. The Foundation is grateful for her time and attention. 

Philanthropists of the Year

Virginia Becker, 2008 Auxiliary President

St. Luke’s Magic Valley Auxiliary
Because there’s always more work than manpower, and more needs than patient revenue can generate, the first Hospital Guild of Twin Falls County was formed in 1949. Dedicated men and women have volunteered their help to the hospital ever since.

Now known as the St. Luke’s Magic Valley Auxiliary, their members staff the information desks, escort visitors, make deliveries to physician offices and patient rooms, and operate the hospital’s Gift Shop. The most recent president, Virginia Becker, joined the Auxiliary in 1987 and believes so strongly in the Auxiliary’s mission that she has served as president five times.

The Auxiliary is a leader in local philanthropy and has given more than $400,000 to the hospital through the Foundation – their most recent gift was an impressive $100,000 for the new cancer center’s lobby area. The Auxiliary has also given numerous gifts directly to hospital departments and provides annual scholarships to students aspiring to health care professions.

Many years ago, founding president Ava Schow said “The Auxiliary is the heartbeat of the hospital.” This still holds true today.

Fred and Peggy Kroll

Fred and Peggy Kroll
For many years, Fred and Peggy Kroll have contributed to St. Luke's Magic Valley Health Foundation programs, continuing the Kroll family’s tradition of generously supporting their local community. Most recently they contributed to the Ensuring a Healthy Future capital campaign by underwriting the cost of the rooftop garden.

"Because of our affiliation with the hospital board and the Foundation, it seemed quite normal for us to be interested in the capital campaign,” Peggy says. “In addition, we have been interested in various beautification projects around the city. Therefore, when we were approached about donating to the new hospital, it was an easy decision for us to focus our interest on the rooftop garden."

The Krolls’ community leadership and generosity will enhance the Obstetric patient rooms and provide a wonderful outside waiting area for new moms preparing or recovering in the new Labor and Delivery Unit.