Founder's Day 2009 Takes Flight With 'The Right Stuff'
Aviation Legend General Chuck Yeager to Receive Hance Award April 30
Gibsonia, Pa. - Jan. 29, 2009 - The first man to break the sound barrier. World War II fighter ace. Test pilot. Space pioneer.
These are but a few of the achievements of Brigadier General Chuck Yeager, the West Virginia farm boy whose life story inspired the 1979 bestseller and 1983 film "The Right Stuff." The aviation legend will be the guest speaker and recipient of the St. Barnabas Hance Award at St. Barnabas Charities' 2009 Founder's Day Celebration on April 30. Held at the historic Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, Founder's Day is an elegant fund-raising event designed to support the St. Barnabas Free Care Fund. Tickets are $250, available by calling 724-443-0700, Ext. 5258 or by visiting www.stbarnabashealthsystem.com. Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. with a reception and silent auction, followed by dinner and a program at 7 p.m.
Presenting General Yeager with the Hance Award will be William V. Day, president of St. Barnabas Health System. In receiving the award, Yeager will join the ranks of former Hance Award recipients such as entertainer Debbie Reynolds, Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, first lady Barbara Bush, astronaut "Buzz" Aldrin and President Gerald Ford. General Yeager will also deliver an inspiring speech to the audience of 400 St. Barnabas supporters. The Hance Award is named for Gouverneur P. Hance, a lay Episcopalian brother who founded St. Barnabas in 1900. Each year, the Hance Award is presented to a person of national acclaim who exemplifies Hance's ideals of benevolence, patriotism and service to others.
In keeping with a Founder's Day tradition, Yeager will visit St. Barnabas Nursing Home during the morning of April 30 to meet with the patients whom Founder's Day benefits. He will also be feted at a private, fund-raising VIP luncheon in his honor to benefit the St. Barnabas Free Care Fund.
The St. Barnabas Free Care Fund supports poor and low-income patients at St. Barnabas Nursing Home, Valencia Woods at St. Barnabas and The Arbors at St. Barnabas. Since 1900, St. Barnabas has maintained a mission of never turning away a patient because of inability to pay.
Born in 1923, Yeager joined the Army Air Corps in September 1941. During World War II, he shot down 13 German aircraft. In 1947, he was sent to Muroc Army Air Field to attempt to exceed the speed of sound in the rocket-powered Bell X-1. On the morning of Oct. 14, 1947, he succeeded in breaking the elusive sound barrier. In doing so, he paved the way for the United States to enter the space age of aeronautics.
Yeager continued to serve with distinction in the Air Force until retiring in 1975. He trained at least 20 astronauts for the X-15, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs and completed 127 combat missions over Southeast Asia. Yeager continues to go hunting, fishing and flying. With his wife, Victoria, he operates the General Chuck Yeager Foundation. For more information, visit www.chuckyeager.com.
The signature sponsor of Founder's Day 2009 is UPMC Health Plan.
About St. Barnabas, St. Barnabas Health System is the largest health care concern of its kind in Pennsylvania and offers service apart from the ordinary in a faith-based, non-denominational setting. Tracing its heritage back to 1900, the system serves approximately 900 inpatients and residents, plus 35,000 outpatients and home care clients. The health system is composed of the
St. Barnabas Communities, including The Village at St. Barnabas, The Washington Place at St. Barnabas and The Woodlands at St. Barnabas; St. Barnabas Clinical Services, including St. Barnabas Nursing Home, St. Barnabas Medical Center, Valencia Woods at St. Barnabas and The Arbors at St. Barnabas; the Kean Theatre; and St. Barnabas Charities, the fund-raising arm.
Contact:
Kathleen Brenneman
(724) 444-5530
kbrenneman@stbarnabashealthsystem.com
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