Oct. 15, 2001 – An evening of cocktails, dinner, ceremony and dancing will celebrate honor cancer survivors Saturday at Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort, as the Partners for Health holds a major fundraiser. Proceeds from $100 tickets will go toward the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Center, now very close to a reality with the anticipated release of bond funds from a tobacco settlement.
The Partners for Health, is a volunteer group that has long provided financial support to St. Thomas medical services.
Not only will this raise funds, said Thomas Gutshall, president of Partners for Health, "it will allow us to honor several people in our community." Honorees include local physician Dr. Ruth Watson, "for continued service and dedication to the people of the Virgin Islands," and four cancer survivors: Rose Connor, Maria Griffin, Barbara Kenny, and Vincent Lettsome.
The event starts with an hour of cocktails at 6:30 p.m., then dinner at 8 p.m. with ceremonies, followed by dancing to the music of The Starlites band. Tickets at $100 are available at the Partners for Health office, 776-8311 x2281, or from the group's members.
Keynote speaker is Dr. Bert Petersen, Jr., oncology specialist, and attending physician at Beth Israel Medical Center and professor of surgery at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, both in New York City. A Virgin Islander, Dr. Petersen has been in the forefront of planning for comprehensive local cancer care for many years.
Over the past 23 years the Partners for Health has purchased more than $2 million in medical equipment, which was donated to schools and hospitals. Their last major fundraiser was held in 1997.