4 Faces of Foundation Giving
4 FACES OF GIVING TO ST. TAMMANY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
COVINGTON - An artist, a retired physician, an athletic insurance executive and a Northshore public servant are among the longtime supporters of the St. Tammany Hospital Foundation.
Their support and volunteer work make possible the life-improving procedures offered by St. Tammany Parish Hospital, a not-for-profit community hospital focused on providing world-class healthcare on the Northshore.
GERALD FORET MD: FAMILY MAN, FAMILY PRACTICE
For 36 years, Gerald Foret MD practiced family medicine and geriatrics in Franklinton, where he and his wife, Gayle, raised two sons.
Eleven years into retirement, Dr. Foret’s legacy as a Northshore physician continues personally and professionally. The Family Medical Clinic in Franklinton, which he founded in 1968, is now part of the St. Tammany Physicians Network, and one of his sons — both are physicians — practices there.
Dr. Foret runs into former patients nearly every day.
“I enjoyed my relationships with my patients, and I still do,” he said.
Supporting the foundation is important to the Forets, both avid fans of Louisiana State University football who also closely follow their granddaughter’s basketball team.
“We’ve been fortunate, and I feel we need to give something back,” Dr. Foret said.
Their preferred way to give to the foundation is in the form of appreciated securities.
“You get a (tax) deduction for the current value, and you don’t pay capital gains,” Dr. Foret said. “From a tax perspective, it’s a good way to go.”
TRUDY WILLIAMSON: A LIFE IN ART
At 87, Trudy Williamson still works to promote the arts on the Northshore. She fulfills that commitment by mentoring young artists in her Covington home studio and supporting the arts at St. Tammany Parish Hospital.
Williamson’s support includes donating two paintings to the St. Tammany Hospital Foundation’s Healing Arts Initiative, which works to enhance patient recovery and well-being through art and music.
She also has been a consistent donor to St. Tammany Hospital Hospice since 2004. In 2008, she dedicated the Hospice Tree for Life to the memory of her husband, E.L. “Chick” Williamson.
Best known for her oil paintings of flowers and landscapes and contemporary abstracts, Williamson is interested in a range of artistic media, including printmaking techniques that draw on ancient Egyptian traditions and encaustics. She has been a driving force with the St. Tammany Art Association since its inception more than 50 years ago.
“People who have had surgery or who are fighting an illness can find calm and peace in art,” said Williamson, who moved to St. Tammany Parish in the 1960s and raised four children here with her husband.
She has enjoyed watching STPH expand over the years to keep pace with community growth.
“The hospital is such an asset to the community in terms of quality of life,” Williamson said. “I want to support that.”
HANK MILTENBERGER: MAN ON THE MOVE
Hank Miltenberger has a unique perspective on St. Tammany Parish Hospital’s role in the community. In 2009, he spent more than two weeks in the hospital after a cycling accident left him with multiple fractures and collapsed lungs.
“The doctors and nurses made me want to get better after an accident that should have killed me,” said Miltenberger, CEO of insurance-services firm Gilsbar Inc. and a longtime St. Tammany Hospital Foundation supporter pre-dating his hospital stay.
Miltenberger did get better — fast. An avid competitor, the lifelong Covington resident ran a marathon less than a year later.
He views the hospital’s role as bigger than personal experience. Its ability to attract top-notch clinicians means local residents can remain close to home during treatment, he said.
“Philanthropy is key to having a hospital like this in our community,” Miltenberger said. “We have a hospital that responds to community needs and that is a matter of quality of life, so I encourage people to help it serve all of us.”
LEE ALEXIUS: A LEGACY OF SERVICE
Lee Alexius’ ties to St. Tammany Parish Hospital run deep. Each of the longtime Covington City Councilman’s four children was born there, as were two of his grandchildren.
But service to the hospital and support for the St. Tammany Hospital Foundation are also family traditions: Alexius’ father was comptroller and later hospital administrator during STPH’s formative years.
“We have strong feelings about Daddy’s legacy and what he did for the hospital, so that’s our biggest connection to it,” said Alexius, a 1963 graduate of St. Paul’s School with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Louisiana State University.
Alexius worked as a St. Tammany Junior High School teacher and coached basketball, softball, track and volleyball in Bush prior to a three-decade career with BellSouth.
“I feel like much of the hospital’s reputation for excellent care and the close relationship between the community and the hospital’s staff was formed while dad was there,” Alexius added. “It is something that continues today.”
His own legacy of community service continues. Alexius, who has been on the Covington City Council for 20 years, will begin a new term in office this summer.