GETTING READY — Volunteers for the Ohio Valley Health Center’s 18th-annual gala prepare the event’s mystery boxes, which will be sold throughout the evening. -- Christopher Dacanay

STEUBENVILLE — With its 18th-annual gala just two weeks away, the Ohio Valley Health Center is ramping up preparation, which includes announcing the honorees who will be recognized at the event.

“And They’re Off! The Race for Hope, Health and Healing” is the theme of the gala, which will take place April 28 at St. Florian Event Center, 286 Luray Drive, Wintersville. Tickets are on sale at $65 per person until April 19 and can be purchased by visiting ovhealthcenter.org or calling (740) 283-2856.

The Kentucky Derby-themed gala is the major fundraiser for the OVHC, providing about one-third of the clinic’s yearly operating budget, said Executive Director Ann Quillen. Support for the gala means the center will be able to continue to provide medically uninsured or underinsured Ohio Valley residents with free medications, laboratory services, case management, food assistance and more.

Festivities will begin at 5 p.m. with a champagne hour, which will include horse racing-themed games and a bourbon tasting. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., followed by a program, during which the OVHC will recognize a medical honoree of the year, volunteer of the year and community partner of the year. A video patient testimony from Shari Jo Watkins will be shared, and a live auction will close the night.

Being honored as the OVHC’s community partners of the year are the Esther Simmons Charitable Trust and the John C. Williams Charitable Trust, both of which have been “faithfully serving” the OVHC since 2011, Quillen said.

“Almost every piece of equipment we have in our lab has been purchased with grant funding from the Esther Simmons and J.C. Williams charitable trusts. Their funding also has been used to support wages for our clinical nurse manager and a variety of medical supplies. Every day that we are providing medical care to our patients, the Esther Simmons and J.C. Williams trusts are a part of that.”

The trusts were created by their namesakes to continue charitable giving beyond the deaths of the individuals. Both are administered by the PNC Charitable Trust Review Committee.

The OVHC’s volunteer of the year is Chris Orris, community liaison for Valley Hospice. The OVHC’s board of directors unanimously voted Orris — himself a board member for the past three years — to be recognized, acknowledging his belief in the clinic’s mission, planning expertise and enthusiasm in representing the OVHC wherever he goes, Quillen said.

Orris said he began volunteering with the OVHC more than a decade ago, becoming more heavily involved in the past several years. He credits Valley Hospice for supporting and encouraging his volunteer efforts in the community.

“Valley Hospice and I feel that you can’t be the community hospice unless you’re part of the community,” he said.

Helping the medically uninsured or underinsured is an important role, Orris said, one that he came to appreciate more fully after a two-year period when he suddenly lost his insurance because of a layoff and then started a new job that didn’t offer that benefit. Orris said he had others to help him get through, but others aren’t so fortunate. For those individuals, the OVHC can be a solution — even a temporary one — to get them the care they need.

“It’s so great for the community that we have (the OVHC) in Steubenville, right downtown where people can get to it when they need to,” Orris said, adding separately that public education about the OVHC and its services is increasing, thanks to Quillen’s efforts.

Along with his fellow gala planning committee members, Orris has taken on the “monumental task” of assembling the gala’s 500 mystery boxes. Donated by individuals and businesses and ranging in value from $10 to $500, the boxes will be sold throughout the event for $20 apiece, ideally earning the OVHC $10,000. Possible prizes include Yeti coolers, a television, gift certificates, adult beverages and more.

Orris has also been assembling the gala’s 15 live-auction packages, which range in value from $500 to $2,000. Packages include an advertising certificate from WTRF-TV, outdoor grills, horse riding lessons, handcrafted furniture, a lawn mower, Arthur Murray dance lessons, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra tickets and a chance to appear on the YouTube show “Cooking up a Storm!” with meteorologist Jeff Oechslein of WTOV-TV — Quillen will appear on the show April 25 to share about the OVHC and its food assistance program.

This year’s medical honorees are Dr. Tom and Suzanne Brown, who have played a vital role in the center since “its doors opened,” Quillen said, adding that the two served as the 2023 and 2014 gala chairpersons.

Tom Brown, who recently retired after 44 years in dentistry, became involved with the OVHC when it was the Jefferson County Fourth Street Health Center. Observing how the clinic aided the medically uninsured or underinsured, Brown said he was “happy to step in” to further the mission.

In addition to serving on the clinic’s board of directors, Tom Brown would transfer patients experiencing emergency dental issues to his private practice, where he would treat them for free.

“It’s important to give back to the community that we’ve served for years and to do unto others as we’re called,” Brown said.

Suzanne Brown is a former teacher and nurse who came on board in the dental office around 2000. Serving as a contact point for her husband, Suzanne Brown helped with fundraising, which she said is her passion.

Quillen said the two are “well-respected in the community” and “so generous with their donations and friendship,” adding, “We’re grateful for the time and the work that they’ve done to support our mission.”

It’s “never too late” to donate toward the gala, Quillen noted, whether that be through purchasing a ticket or any level of sponsorship.

“We are overwhelmed and grateful for all the sponsorships and donations that have been made for this very significant fundraising event for the health center,” she said. “The community has generously supported us over the years and continues to do so as we move into the future.”