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your family, and friends have access to the best healthcare available."
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The Platters, The Coasters and The Drifters visit Winter Haven to benefit the heart By JENNIFER WHALEN Area residents will soon grab their formal dresses and tuxedos and dance the night away to the music of the fifties and sixties at the upcoming Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation's 16th Annual Fall Gala. Residents will dash to Nora Mayo Hall Nov. 8 to hear classic songs from The Platters, The Coasters and The Drifters, who will performs such songs as "Only You," "Great Pretender," "Yakty Yak," "Charley Brown," "This Magic Moment" and "Under the Boardwalk." Guests can also enjoy the silent auction, a new feature at the Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation's Fall Gala that has been organized by Lynn Oakley, a member of the foundation's Board of Trustees. Prizes such as golf outings, a private party for 20 people with food catered by Bone Fish Grill and a chance to experience a day in a vintage fighter plane will be offered. Joel Thomas, executive director of the Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation, said about 360 guests will attend this year's gala. With tickets to the event already sold out, a waiting list of guests has generated in order to participate in the benefit. The gala has been an important fundraiser for the Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation, especially since it has raised $1 million in cash and in-kind gifts during the past four years. Money raised from the event benefit the foundation's health care initiatives, which include the Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation's Health Care Scholarship Endowment Fund, Winter Haven Hospital's new capital building campaign and the hospital's new Bostick Heart Center. Last year the gala raised $330,000, but this year, Thomas said, he expects the gala to surpass that record and raise about $350,000 this year. "This year's proceeds are earmarked to support the hospital's new Bostick Heart Center," Thomas said. "This is an exciting time to be associated with the foundation and with Winter Haven Hospital." Added Richard Straughn, Mid-Florida Medical Services Foundation chairman, "(Money raised is) going to assist the Bostick Heart Center and its future of bringing high-quality, cardiovascular care in our community." Every year, entertainment for the gala is alternated between having a keynote speaker or a performer entertain the audience for the evening. After a year of planning, The Platters, The Coasters and The Drifters were invited to entertain guests at this year's fall gala. The evening of fun offers a wonderful opportunity for residents to enjoy themselves, dress up and donate to a worthy cause. Money that is donated to the foundation's Health Care Scholarship Endowment Fund benefits East Polk residents, who plan on pursuing a career in health care, by awarding them with $1,000. "We need to gratefully thank all of the individuals and organizations that have contributed so generously to making this and all of the previous galas such a huge success," Thomas said. Straughn, who has been the chairman of the foundation for two years, attributed the recent success of the foundation's gala to Larry Tucker, the chairman of the fall gala. Straughn said preparation for the gala would not be the same without Tucker's efforts and dedication to making the gala the foundation's premiere fundraising source. "The fall gala is East Polk County's biggest fundraising event," Tucker said in a written statement. "And so, it's a great opportunity for friends of Winter Haven Hospital to get involved and help the foundation work to provide quality health care in the Ridge community."
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