Record attendance

An Evening with Friends event a huge success

In what is being hailed as the most successful night in the history of the event, the annual An Evening with Friends fundraiser for the North Big Horn Hospital Foundation drew a large crowd of people enjoying good food and quality entertainment at the Lovell Community Center on April 26.

 According to North Big Hospital Marketing, Foundation and Grants Coordinator Janet Koritnik, the event had a record attendance of 173 people, with 180 tickets sold.

“It was great,” Koritnik said. “I think having a full meal was a draw and people knowing it was Wyoming 310 (catering the meal). And people really enjoyed the entertainer (mentalist Jym Elders) two years ago.”

Koritnik said the event raised around $13,500 for women’s health at the hospital, which was chosen to coincide with the hiring of Dr. Brenda Camp, a new surgical gynecologist at the hospital and the recent installation of a DEXA scan device which measures bone density and composition to assess osteoporosis.

The funds may be used for programming, equipment, services and more, Koritnik said.

Having just reviewed comment cards from the event, Koritnik said people really liked the meal, which featured prime rib or chicken parmesan, as well as the entertainer.

“Overall, comments were good,” Koritnik said. “People really liked the meal, and nearly every single survey had positive feelings about the entertainment. In general, the comments were very favorable.”

The evening began with a social hour, silent auction and appetizers, with music provided by Route 66 – Ron McClure and Emelyn Pimentel. The dinner followed, and mentalist Elders wowed the audience with a variety of unfathomable mental feats.

The evening featured several honors presented to individuals.

Hospital Foundation board chairman Jeff Pearson acknowledged Janice Mangus, sister of the late Caryl Turner, whose estate provided much of the funding for the DEXA scanner, and thanked Bob DeRocher for his years of support for the foundation.

Koritnik thanked Lovell Chronicle reporter Patti Carpenter for her many years of coverage of the hospital district and coming out of retirement a little more than a year ago to cover the hospital board and various aspects of the hospital district.

North Big Horn Hospital District CEO Eric Connell thanked provider Ken Ferbrache, PA-C for his many years of service to the district and community, and he also thanked Koritnik, who is retiring after nearly 21 years as marketing, foundation and grants coordinator. The foundation board also honored Koritnik for her great work over the years and presented her with a special gift.

All in all, it was a successful evening, Koritnik said, and she thanked Wyoming 310 for the quality of the meal and service and the 9’ers 4-H Club for their “outstanding help” during the evening.