Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida held Appreciation Dinner on April 4

Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida held their annual Volunteer and Referral Source Appreciation Awards dinner on April 4, 2017 at Barefoot Boat Club in Bonita Springs. The event was held to celebrate the work and dedication of volunteers and local medical professionals.
Guests enjoyed beverages by the pool at the Boat Club while having the opportunity to network and celebrate with one another. A barbeque dinner was followed by the awards presentations. Making the evening special was an inspiring wish family and wish child, Timmy MacAlpine. Timmy wished to see castles and explore Scotland with his family. His father talked about the power of a wish and how it impacted their family. Timmy gave a report of his wish in detail and talked about what it meant to him to see so many castles and even sleep overnight in one.
Milestones were recognized during the awards portion of the evening with three volunteers having five years of volunteer service, one volunteer with 10 years of volunteer service, and two volunteers with 15 years of volunteer service. In addition, several volunteers were recognized for granting wishes – from their first wish all the way through to granting almost 100 wishes.
Awards presented were: Wish Granter of the Year – Fatima Salazar Reyes; Wishmaker® of the Year – Laura Lee; Volunteer Rising Star of the Year – Lana Clark; Referral Source of the Year – Dr. Eric Eason, Pediatric Cardiologist; and Spirit of a Wish – The Golisano Children’s Hospital Child Life Specialists.
Special event chairs were recognized and thanked for their exceptional support resulting in a successful season; Walk For Wishes chairs, Dorothy Blasingim and Tammy Teece, Rick and Brenda Brown – 2017 Wishmaker’s Ball chairs; and Dylan Sanders for chairing the Annual Tea at the Ritz-Carlton for the past six years.
Make-A-Wish Southern Florida grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. The Southern Florida chapter grants a wish every 16 hours and has granted more than 10,000 wishes since its inception in 1983. The chapter’s vision is to make every eligible child’s wish come true. For more information about Make-A-Wish, visit www.sfla.wish.org or call 239-992-9474.