Society Page Gossip Column -- HospiceMidland's White Elephant Auction

Some of Midland's most caring people let their hair down last night.

The HospiceMidland held its fourth annual White Elephant Auction, and the people in attendance had a grand old time in honor of the HospiceMidland volunteers.   And after a huge meal there was that infamous White Elephant Auction.

The auctioneer was the dynamic SanDee Pitman.  She kept the audience in stitches as she described and auctioned off those white elephants -- she could hold her own against any prop comic you would ever hope to see on Comedy Central.  She had the audience  howling with laughter.

The only currency accepted for payment at the auction was "Monopoly" type play money which was given to the volunteers as "payment" for the time each spent providing volunteer services for the organization.

The food was plentiful, and the money flowed!  The play money, that is.  With this being the only place that currency had any value, items such as a loaf of homemade bread merely hours old brought out bids in the thousands.

Some of the auctioned items were real honest to goodness treasures.  And true to the name, some were white elephants.  But SanDee Pitman made treasures of them all, and each item went home with a proud new owner.

Among the honorable guests were former mayor Carroll Thomas along with HospiceMidland medical advisors Dr. Robert Vogel and Dr. Gregory Bartha.  And of course the volunteer coordinator, Susie Mauldin, was there.  Anyone who hasn't yet met Susie has missed out on a certain something.  She could herd cats if it would benefit HospiceMidland.

I promised gossip, and here it is.  Eligible bachelor, Gregory Bartha, M.D., appeared at the event with a girl friend.  She's lovely, blond and attractive, and rumor has it she's a lawyer in a large city.  Sorry ladies.

There are other hospices in Midland, but HospiceMidland is the only not-for-profit hospice in town.  By not-for-profit I mean that it was formed as such under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act.  What that means is that there is no owner, and any revenue in excess of expenses has to be plowed back into the organization and not into an owner's pocket.  And its 501(c)(3) status means that a donation can be deducted from the donor's federal income taxes.

The not-for-profit status makes it much more comforting for patients and family in a business that deals with people made helpless by sickness or grief.  In my book, HospiceMidland is the only hospice in town.  (But, uhmmm, I'm not exactly dying to get in.)

Comments

[Eric]

George, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that HospiceMidland is also the only hospice in town that provides its valuable services regardless of the client's ability to pay.

That provides some significant peace of mind, too.

[Geo]

Eric,

Some very generous people have established endowments which help HospiceMidland provide services to people who can't pay.

I really don't know enough about the other hospices to know how they deal with patients who can't pay. But, it's very hard to imagine anyone setting up an endowment for a for-profit business.