Inaugural Hospice of the Golden Isles Endowment Party

What a night for our honoree and our new Hospice of the Golden Isles Endowment! Not only was Dewey Benefield surprised by an appearance from our special guest speaker, UGA’s very own Loran Smith, he was also recognized for his contributions to UGA in a video greeting from legendary Coach Vince Dooley, which is attached below.  Loran Smith also brought gifts from UGA that included a certificate noting Dewey’s place in UGA’s history as the “Poet Laureate,” a football signed by Coach Smart, and a miniature replica of the Stan Mullins’ bronze statue of Herschel Walker. The replica was made with a 3-D printer by the students at Athens Tech to pay tribute to Dewey’s famous description of Walker as “That Goal Line Stalker.” The final numbers from the fundraiser at the A.W. Jones Heritage Center on Oct. 4th are still being tallied, but early results look very promising.  We are so grateful for our sponsors the William O. Inman, III family, The Sumerford Family Fund, and the Robinson Investment Group. Because of their donations all of the proceeds from the event will go toward our new Endowment. And those dollars will be doubled in special matching gift directly to Hospice of the Golden Isles thanks to a grant from the St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation. The Endowment is managed by the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation to sustain our non profit mission of providing the highest quality, compassionate hospice care to those who need us in Glynn, Camden, McIntosh, Brantley, and Charlton Counties, regardless of ability to pay. We’d like to extend a special note of gratitude to our event hosts Brooke Sumerford and Nancy Wainwright, our guest speaker Ben Slade, Al Wise Photography, Halyards Catering, Imint Media, The A.W. Jones Heritage Center, musician Owen Plant, and our wonderful team of volunteers led by the incomparable Trish Burns.  We are also thankful for the silent auction donations from the following: Sea Island, Nancy and Adam Wainwright, Stellers Gallery, Mildred Huie Wilcox, Halyards, Hook & Knife Charters, The Lodge at Little St. Simons, Steve Penley, Bill Inman, and the Davis Love Foundation. We hope you’ll enjoy the photos from our special night. Endowment Party Power Point Click here for the greeting from Vince Dooley