Lake City Medical Center (LCMC) Endowment Fund and Friends of Lake City EMTs have announced the merging of Friends into the Endowment. Turnover of assets is underway and the orderly closing of the Friends operation will be completed over the next few months.
Friends’ Board of Directors, Keith Chambers, Leslie Nichols, and Rachel Moore, have determined that the Endowment has a highly complementary Mission, a grant program that balances near-term support with long-term growth, a strong and established volunteer board, and a consistent vehicle to channel future support for the benefit of EMS volunteers and operations.
Friends Board member Keith Chambers says, “I believe this merger will achieve the utmost in assisting the EMTs of 2026 along with providing help to the EMTs of 2036 and beyond.”
Friends was formed in 1995 by Jerry Gray and Jack Nichols. The mission was to raise funds to provide an incentive program for the recruitment and retention of volunteer emergency medical providers and ambulance drivers serving Hinsdale County EMS.
Contributions by Jerry Gray, Keith Chambers, Sandy Hines, Michelle Murphy, Buffy Witt, Becky Campbell, Rachel Moore, John Bonner, Dave Jordan, Marcia Connell Carl, Lori Lawrence, Guy Corder, Rick Hernandez, Liana Whitlock, Jodi Linsey, Ray Blaum, Leslie Nichols, Jack Nichols, and countless other EMTs and ambulance drivers sustained Friends through 4th of July turkey leg booths, t-shirt sales, Adopt-an-EMT campaigns, and more.
San Juan Solstice 50 ultrarun, started in 1995 as the Lake City 50, was picked up by Jerry Gray and Friends in 2002 and quickly became the major fundraising event for Friends. The bulk of the current Friends fund is the result of this exceptional event and untold hours of volunteer time in support of Lake City EMTs.
Friends Board member Leslie Nichols states, “It has been a great run for this scrappy non-profit! The spirit of Friends will carry on with the merger with LCMC Endowment Fund, and the generous donations and countless hours of volunteer fundraising of the last three decades will continue to meet the Friends mission for decades more to come.”
Friends has provided support by sending EMTs to conferences for continuing education, helping stage EMT and Wilderness First Responder (WFR) classes in Lake City, providing personal protective equipment and branded gear, and providing consistent and essential team dinners for run reviews, camaraderie, and recognition.
The Endowment was formed in 1996 for the support of the Lake City Area Medical Center. In 2018, the scope was expanded to include Hinsdale County EMS and the Silver Thread Public Health District.
The Endowment provides financial support to the delivery of quality healthcare in Lake City. Merging Friends assets with the Endowment will leverage a larger asset and supporter base for the benefit of both organizations.
Since 2018, the Endowment has granted $67,918 to EMS or about 22 percent of their total grants of $302,450. Grant requests are submitted by the supported organizations and approved by the nine-person volunteer Endowment Board.
Strong support for EMS is expected to continue due to the stated Mission and connections to EMS on the Endowment Board. The Endowment’s Board of Directors includes the EMS Director Katherine Heidt, former EMS Director Jerry Gray, former EMT Marcia Carl, and EMT Sarah Moody. Bylaws guarantee a seat on the Board for the EMS Director.
Bernie Krystyniak, Endowment Board President says that “the Endowment will continue to be enthusiastic fundraisers on behalf of EMS along with the medical center and public health. We look forward to including Friends of Lake City EMTs donors into our family of Lake City healthcare organization supporters.”
Friends of Lake City EMTs entity will be formally dissolved as it winds down operations over the next few months. Future donations benefiting EMTs and EMS programs can be directed to the Endowment, the Lake Fork Community Foundation collection process, or directly to EMS.
Donations to the Endowment can be made online at www.LCMCEndowmentFund.org, by check to PO Box 822, Lake City, or by designating an Endowment donation in the Lake Fork Community Foundation process. Gifts of property can be arranged by contacting the Endowment at [email protected]. Legacy donations are also an option. Some companies have matching gift programs that can be leveraged to increase donation value.
Donations directly to Hinsdale County EMS can be made online at https://hinsdalecountyems.square.site/ or by mail to EMS at PO Box 277, Lake City.
The current Endowment Board consists of Marcia Carl, Linda Downs (Secretary), Jerry Gray (Public Health Representative), Katherine Heidt (EMS Representative), Malinda McDonald, Sarah Moody, Greg Olson (Health District Representative), Cindy Rae (Vice President), and Bernie Krystyniak (President and Treasurer).
LCMC Endowment Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) established in 1996 with the Mission of supporting quality health care delivery in Lake City through supported organizations Lake Fork Health Service District, Silver Thread Public Health District, and Hinsdale County EMS. More information can be found on their website at www.LCMCEndowmentFund.org.
STAY IN THE KNOW
