Festival of Hearts gala raises $37,000

With grateful hearts, the Fry Healthcare Foundation Board of Directors is ecstatic to announce that this year’s Festival of Hearts gala raised over $37,000! This will allow them to purchase four Spacelabs QUB Heart Monitors for Boundary Community Hospital Emergency/Acute Care as well as the Fund-an-Item Blood Bank Refrigerator designated for use by the Hospital’s Laboratory.

The elegant atmosphere coupled with the delicious food prepared by the master chefs at the Kootenai River Inn made for a delightful event. Teresa and Brian Rae joined forces as emcee and auctioneer, extracting high amounts for the auction items while keeping the event fun and relaxed. According to Teresa Rae, Vice President of Fry Healthcare Foundation, “We are pleased to be able to provide this special event at a time of year when people in Boundary County want to get together and celebrate. The dinner and auction format seems to be just right, and we are humbled by our community’s generosity.”

All of the auction items had a local connection including a Life Flight Network lifetime membership, flowers from SugarPlum Floral and BeeHaven Flower Farms, beef from Gardiner Prime Angus Ranch in Porthill, dining certificates from local restaurants, getaway packages to Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene, a Day on the Lake with Wendy and Steve Hawks, golf at Mirror Lake Golf Course, garlic from Allicin’s Ranch, and FLO-grown products from Cloud Eleven Mountain Farms.

The Dessert Dash was again a rousing success this year, doubling last year’s proceeds by raising a whopping $8,409! “The Tower of Chocolate Cake donated by Kootenai River Inn went for $2,000, and two other desserts went for over $1,000 each. Tables pool their resources to be able to pick first from the 15 spectacular desserts, and this single event has proven to be not only a money-maker for Fry, but also an event that attendees look forward to and strategize over,” provided Teresa Rae. It is a fun way for everyone at the event to participate and share desserts, with many individuals leaving with yummy leftover boxes to enjoy at home. A special thank you to the restaurants and individuals who created the beautiful and delicious dessert array.

During the event, many of the attendees raised their paddles as part of the Fund-an-Item bidding in order to raise money to purchase a Blood Bank Refrigerator for the Laboratory. In a time-sensitive emergency, the Hospital needs to have a ready supply of blood, and this new refrigerator will have all of the latest temperature controls and alarms in order to allow the hospital to provide the best possible service in this area.

The Fry Healthcare Foundation and our community have raised $1.25 Million to benefit the hospital over the past 21 years. A heartfelt thank you to everyone in the community for your continued support of the Foundation and its fundraising efforts on behalf of Boundary Community Hospital. Please join us at the next Fry Healthcare Foundation event which will be the Tenth Annual Golf Tournament at Mirror Lake Golf Course on Sept. 6, 2019. Again, thank you to all who donated and attended this great event!