On April 24, Mathis Guild, a philanthropic group consisting of 54 women, gathered at the Kitsap Golf & Country Club for its annual luncheon benefitting Silverdale’s St. Michael Medical Center. In total, more than 200 women attended the “Arabian Magic”-themed event.
This year, the guild raised funds to install technology designed to prevent radiation exposure to medical professionals in the center’s five cardiac catheterization laboratories.
To install the technology in a single room, it costs roughly $155,000.
“The guild is excited to announce that it raised $84,000 in gross proceeds and will be able to accomplish its goal to add the Rampart Radiation Protection in one cath lab at St. Michael Medical Center,” Jennifer Mills, president of Mathis Guild, said in an email the days following the event.
The luncheon kicked off just before noon. Guests were greeted upon arrival with bubbling glasses of champagne before they headed up the staircase — adorned in West Asian-inspired textiles — to the luncheon’s main event space.
Over the next hour, women socialized, browsed a bountiful selection of floral bouquets, participated in a dessert auction, and took part in a silent auction. Prizes included items like gardening tools, tickets to upcoming shows at Admiral Theatre, a Yeti cooler, and more.
Guests could also purchase raffle tickets for a chance at winning prizes such as a four-day stay and $500 spa certificate at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Arizona, a bouquet of gift cards, two different sets of fine jewelry, a spa package for two, and a stay at The Resort at Port Ludlow.
Once everyone congregated in the ballroom for lunch, Mills greeted the group and shined a spotlight on the women who were instrumental in bringing the event to life.
“Thank you all so much for being here,” Mills announced to the room. “… The Mathis Guild started in 1941 as a group of women joining together to support what was then Harrison Hospital and it’s been going ever since … When we became a 501(c)3 nonprofit this year, we got together and discussed maybe we could have a different cause every year — and it was a really short conversation. Everyone said ‘no, we are together for one reason and that is to support St. Michael Medical Center.’”
After dining on a light tabbouleh salad, the live auction commenced. Attendees were quick to outbid one another on two items: A four-night stay in a cabin in Leavenworth and a six-person private cruise on the Belle La Via Yacht.
Following the auction, St. Michael’s Interim Vice President of Operations and Director of Perioperative Services Allie McLaughlin took to the podium to shed light on the importance of radiation protection.
“We see the fourth-largest volume of heart attacks in the state because we see such a wide population in Kitsap County …” McLaughlin said. “… This imaging system (in the cath labs) is amazing for treating heart attacks and helping people survive … but with that radiation comes the exposure to what causes cancers. We have people in our lives who are day in and day out standing in these rooms … We all wear lead on our bodies for 10-12 hours a day, the middle of the night, whenever — it’s about 40 extra pounds. It’s hard on the body.”
McLaughlin noted how, through the installation of radiation protection technology, wearing lead would no longer be necessary. It would allow for less strain on her and her colleagues’ bodies — some of whom she can recall having spinal surgeries or having to take time off due to limited mobility from prolonged wear of the lead garments.
After a hearty applause for McLaughlin, Miss Silverdale Marcelene Alina, Miss Kitsap Paulynne Crouse, and Mathis Guild members Carol Kowalski and Kari Kaltenborn came forward to draw tickets for the raffle.
Shortly after, the event winded down with Mills expressing gratitude to the women for coming together to support the medical center and for all their effort that went into producing this year’s luncheon.
“What we do in this room is important and I know that sometimes we take credit as Mathis Guild members, but it’s more than just the 54 women that are listed. It’s all of the women in this room,” Mills closed. “Where else do you see this many women get together and make this kind of impact on their community?”