Out & About: Excela Black Tie for Hope benefits cancer care
Casino-style games are a staple of the annual Excela Health black tie gala. This year, organizers added another test of skill and chance to the mix, with a life-size Operation game.
How steady were the hands of a group of surgeons as they tried to avoid the buzzer and pluck the wish bone, funny bone and other parts from their hapless patient? Not perfect, but pretty steady overall.
This year’s event, hosted by Westmoreland/Frick Hospital Foundation and held March 30 at the Greensburg Country Club, was dubbed Black Tie for Hope, with proceeds benefiting Excela’s state-of-the-art cancer care services.
It was an auspicious day for the gala, with March 30 designated as National Doctors Day in the United States.
Prior to all the fun and games, Excela CEO Bob Rogalski shared that he himself is a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed in 2011 with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer.
Rogalski said he received part of his treatment at the Arnold Palmer Cancer Center in Unity and is now cancer-free.
“That shows we have great cancer care out here in Westmoreland County,” he said.
Event chairman was foundation trustee Ron Eberhardt, seen with wife JoAnn. Special guest at the pre-gala VIP reception was former Penguin and current Penguins radio broadcaster Phil Bourque.
Also seen: Sharon Rogalski, Jeff and Leanne Feret, David and Barbara Lynn, Dr. Sharon Goldstein and Craig Jahnke, Dr. Michael and Stephanie Szwerc, Terry Graft and Linda Brown, Joan and Jess Stairs, Al and Sally Ann Novak, Dr. Geof and Kelly Bisignani, Sharon Smith, Jill Briercheck, Jo Ellen Numerick, Patti Buhl, John and Linda Dixon, Matthew and Megan Snider and David and Ashleigh Riehl.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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