Ludington Hospital

West Shore Bank title sponsor for Guinness World Record attempt

Sand Angel benefit for cancer patients set for June 10 at Stearns Park Beach. Open to all.

Ludington’s Guinness World Record sand angel attempt this summer has a title sponsor and official name. The June 10 event at Stearns Park beach is now known as: Be Someone’s Angel presented by Spectrum Health Foundation—Ludington Hospital in partnership with West Shore Bank.

It’s a long title for a big cause: raising money to help cancer patients struggling to meet treatment and travel expenses necessary to fight for survival.

West Shore Bank stepped up with a donation of $25,000 to assume the lead role in the world record attempt and jump start the fundraising.

“West Shore Bank stepping up as our title sponsor is a great demonstration of their commitment to really make a difference in our community,” said Kaley Petersen, foundation and community services director. “Their leadership and staff are ‘all in’ for this event. They have been hands on to help ensure that Ludington sets the Guinness World Record for the most people making sand angels simultaneously and that at the end of the day, we successfully create a patient assistance fund to help area cancer patients handle the heavy burdens of fighting cancer and meeting their medical expenses. While breaking a world record is exciting, we are ultimately here to benefit our community and those battling cancer.”

Donna Yager, vice president of marketing for West Shore Bank and the bank’s co-chair for the event, said, “We are honored to be a part of this effort. Our President and CEO, Ray Biggs, and our entire staff are committed to making this a success. We have friends and colleagues who are cancer survivors and this effort is very close to our hearts.”

Both Yager and Tonya Nash from West Shore Bank joined the Be Someone’s Angel planning committee. The committee’s make-up reflects the community wide partnership underpinning the event. Others on the committee include Barry Neal, who led House of Flavors successful Guinness World Record ice cream sundae event last summer, Brandy Henderson, Ludington city councilor, Janet Baxter, hospital volunteer board president, Julie Schrader, owner, Schrader Events & Marketing, Kathy Maclean, CEO and president, Ludington and Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce, and Heather Tykoski, community development director, City of Ludington. Committee members from the board of Spectrum Health Foundation—Ludington Hospital are Scott Smith, vice chair, and Bob Budreau, chair, in addition to Petersen.

Be Someone’s Angel presented by Spectrum Health Foundation—Ludington Hospital in partnership with West Shore Bank will take place Saturday June 10, 2017 at Stearns Public Beach, with the official start at 1:00 pm. The event will be an official world record attempt, with a Guinness World Record judge on site.

“We want to emphasize that the sand angel record event is open to everyone,” said Yager, “Ludington area residents and visitors alike. “The current world record for sand angels is in the hundreds; we want to see literally thousands of people on the beach June 10 making sand angels.”

Event registration encouraged

Added Petersen, “All funds stay local and directly benefit our greater community.  Pre-registration is encouraged for the event. In order to effectively organize and coordinate, we anticipate a capacity of 5,000 sand angel participants.”

Participants can pre-register as an individual or group on Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/be-someones-angel-official-world-record-attempt-tickets-31232115097

Sponsorships and more details can be found on the Spectrum Health Foundation webpage:

http://www.spectrumhealth.org/foundation/events/be-someones-angel

People can also register by contacting the foundation office directly at 231.845.2233.

Title sponsor announcement participants

Taking part in the title sponsor announcement from West Shore Bank were: Raymond Biggs, president and CEO; Donna Yager, VP, marketing officer, planning committee member; Jim Virden, AVP retail banking/mortgage originator, and member of the hospital foundation board; Tonya Nash, credit analyst, planning committee member.

Two of the West Shore Bank participants are also cancer survivors: Rick Payne, IT network administrator, and Nancy Sanford, retail banking officer/Scottville branch manager.

Participating from Spectrum Health Ludington Foundation were: Randy Kelley, president; Helen Johnson, chief nursing officer; Kerri Nelson, chief financial officer; Jill Vasquez, senior HR business partner; and Kaley Petersen, foundation and community services director.

Special guests for the occasion from the Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital Cancer Care & Infusion practice were: Linda Whitman, practice manager, and Kay Kessel, RN, OCN, nurse navigator for cancer patients.

Lead Angels. Raymond Biggs, West Shore Bank president/CEO (center, behind check) and his colleagues present their title sponsorship check to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital and foundation leaders, for the Guinness World Record sand angel attempt June 10 in Ludington. Accepting the $25,000 donation are Scott Smith (l.), hospital foundation board vice chair, Kaley Petersen, foundation director, and Randy Kelley, president. Behind them, l. to r., are Helen Johnson, Kerri Nelson, Jim Virden, Rick Payne, Donna Yager, Jill Vasquez, Tonya Nash, Linda Whitman, Kay Kessel, and Nancy Sanford (other title details in article).

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About West Shore Bank

As an independent and locally owned bank, West Shore Bank takes pride in helping our communities. With locations throughout Mason, Manistee, Oceana, Benzie and Muskegon counties, West Shore Bank is committed to making a real difference in the local community and providing valuable financial solutions to all its customers.

People are at the heart of everything we do, and the inspiration for our legacy of outstanding outcomes, innovation, strong community partnerships, philanthropy and transparency. Corewell Health is a not-for-profit health system that provides health care and coverage with an exceptional team of 60,000+ dedicated people—including more than 11,500 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 15,000 nurses providing care and services in 21 hospitals, 300+ outpatient locations and several post-acute facilities—and Priority Health, a provider-sponsored health plan serving more than 1.3 million members. Through experience and collaboration, we are reimagining a better, more equitable model of health and wellness. For more information, visit corewellhealth.org.

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