KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Adventist Health Clear Lake’s Philanthropy Council hosted their 50th Anniversary Golden Gala Celebration on Nov. 10 at Boatique Winery.

Presented by Rob and Madi Mount of Boatique, the event celebrated 50 years of Hospital history and launched a new campaign aligned with the city of Clearlake.

Two hundred and twenty five guests, under the theme of “What Together Can Do,” raised $100,000 in community giving.

In the last 50 years, Adventist Health Clear Lake, previously known as Redbud, has continually invested in the community through philanthropic events.

In an effort to continue that investment the Golden Gala focused on raising funds in partnership with the City of Clearlake’s Park Restructuring to provide new safe playground equipment for children.

The equipment is one phase of the park restructuring and the funds raised will cover the cost of purchasing the equipment for Austin Park in Clearlake.

The hospital has been tied to the history of the community of Clear Lake since it was built in 1968.

As guests arrived they had a chance to walk through some of the stories of that 50-year history of both the hospital and Clear Lake.

Honored historian Gene Paleno, author of “Lake County History,” was on hand to share rich stories of the lake history.

“The Doctors Three” – Mark Copper, Marc Shapiro and John Weeks – shared humorous stories of their practices while Conrad Colbrandt, Redbud Healthcare District executive manager, and Jim Robello, Philanthropy Council chair, shared childhood memories of living in Lake County.

David Santos, Adventist Health Clear Lake CEO, launched the event with a moment of silence for the communities of Paradise and Ventura County.

“We have been called to serve the communities of Lake County and that means expanding our reach outside the walls of the hospitals and clinic in to the heart of our community,” said Santos. “Living God’s love means providing a community that is safe where our children and adults can live a healthy life.”

The Gala program, “Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Journey and Inspiring the Future,” led guests through a journey from 1968 into our present success before laying the groundwork for future investments in Lake County.

Pat Pirtle, one of Redbud Hospital’s original nursing assistants, and Willie Sapeta, Lake County Fire Protection District Fire chief, shared stories of their work with the hospital and staff over the last 50 years.

Ben Hill, master of ceremonies, presented the accomplishments of the hospital and clinics in the last 20 years. Throughout the evening, guests were treated with stunning aerialist performances, Celtic harp music and a Chef Nicholas catered meal.

Shelly Trumbo, Adventist Health Community integration executive, and Russ Perdock, Adventist Health Clear Lake Community integration director, presented “Activate”, a campaign to bring new safe playground equipment to Austin Park in Clearlake. Providing a safe place for children to be active and invest in their health through playground activity is an investment in their future health.

Following the presentation guests were treated to a vocal performance by Trumbo and Mary Swehla singing Carrie Underwood's “Change.” The song's message is that each of us can do something to change the world.

“The Adventist Health Clear Lake Golden Gala was such a special event, watching our hospital join with our city to focus on promoting health through activity,” said Perdock. “The ability to raise enough to fund the purchase of playground equipment in one night is something to be celebrated.”

The evening ended with a paddle raise auction by Generosity Auctions that raised $41,450 in addition to the event sponsor pledges, bringing the evening’s total to $100,000.