SPOTLIGHT MERCY HEALTH FOUNDATION

Night is ‘Divine’ benefit for Mercy Health charity

— Gordon Goss’ time as chairman of the board of directors for the Mercy Health Foundation is off to a rousing start.

Goss became the chairman of the foundation in July, at the same time it launched a three-year, $25 million capital campaign. The foundation has already raised more than $3 million toward that goal, in large part due to major gifts from the Shewmaker family and Hunt Ventures.

The Shewmaker gift of $1.5 million helped pay fora new clinic in Bella Vista, which is under construction. Hunt Ventures donated land for a clinic in Centerton, valued at more than $800,000; plans for the Centerton location are ongoing.

All funds raised by the foundation benefit Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas. The capital campaign runs through mid-2015.

“[Mercy] has got the general revenue stream that comes in from patients, but this is an opportunity for the foundation to reach out to the community at large, and for some of the more well-off members of thecommunity to contribute,” says Goss, an executive vice president with Kruger Products who lives in Rogers.

The foundation will be making another significant addition to its fundraising total Dec. 8, when it hosts the 19th annual “O Night Divine” gala. The event begins at 6 p.m. at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers, and tickets are $200 apiece.

Country music star Easton Corbin will be the headline entertainer at the black-tie gala. Corbin had two No. 1 songs in 2009, and was named by Billboard asthe Top New Country Artist of 2010. There will be live and silent auctions, including a trip to see the season finale of The X Factor. Goss has his heart set on a sailing experience out of San Diego on Stars and Stripes, the yacht that races in the America’s Cup.

“People have a lot of options; you can pretty much go to a charity event every Friday and Saturday night of the year here,” Goss says. “I’m a little biased, but to me, this is the premier event of the year.”

Tickets to “O Night Divine” include admission to the event’s after-party, which kicks off at 10 p.m. and runs until about 1 a.m. D.J. Kirby - a video disc jockey who has performed with the Black Eyed Peas, Maroon 5 and Justin Timberlake - will perform at the gala.

The foundation hopes to draw 1,200 people, and would like to raise $750,000.

“There’s a group of over 50 volunteers that work on the committees” for the gala, Goss says. “We continue toimprove. I think it’s one of the best after-parties at any event in the region; it’s quite something.”

A native of Toronto, Goss’ first contact with Mercy came in 2006, two years after he moved to Northwest Arkansas, when he was hospitalized with a life-threatening illness. A doctor at St. Mary’s (now part of Mercy Health System) caught the illness, which had been missed in Goss’ previous checkups, and in doing so, likely saved Goss’ life.

It took about a year before he was fully recovered, but today Goss says he has no complications, thanks to the care he received.

“This area is turning into something quite special, [and this was] my opportunity to give back,” says Goss, who has been on the board for three years. “I owe a whole lot to Mercy. It was a life-awakening experience.”

The foundation will be hosting its 20th annual golf tournament in May at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers.

For more information about the Mercy Health Foundation’s “O Night Divine” fundraiser, call (479) 338-2990 or visit

mercy.net/northwestar/giving

.

Northwest Profile, Pages 31 on 11/25/2012

Upcoming Events