From Frances Sack

Otterbein’s 100th Anniversary Gala raises $174,000 for Endowment for Benevolent Care/Quality of Life

LEBANON, OH – April 28, 2012 – The first gala in Otterbein’s 100-year history was a spectacular evening at the Manor House in Mason. An elegantly decorated atmosphere surrounded more than 500 beautifully dressed guests.

Otterbein Senior Lifestyle Choice’s President/CEO Jill C. Hreben gave the assembled crowd a little bit of a shock when she said that Otterbein does not have a mission.

“You see, Otterbein is an organization that has been ‘called’ by God to seek to enhance the quality of life and holistic growth of older persons. It’s not a mission, but a calling …” she explained. “We call it The Spirit of Otterbein.”

The gala celebrating the 100th anniversary of Otterbein’s founding raised $174,000. Net proceeds will be distributed to each lifestyle community for the Endowment for Benevolent Care and to the Otterbein Skilled Nursing & Rehab Neighborhoods’ Endowment for Quality of Life. These endowments provide funds for residents and elders who are eligible for financial assistance.

WKRC anchor John Lomax was charming as the evening’s emcee. Eliciting laughs with witty banter and drawing focused looks as she shared little known facts about Otterbein’s beginnings, Hreben hosted the evening. She recognized retired presidents, Donald L. Gilmore and Dr. Charles Dilgard; honored guests, such as Otterbein alumni like Lynn “Popcorn” Weber, who grew up in the Otterbein Homes’ orphanage and moved back years later to make Otterbein Lebanon his home again, Charles and Arline Peckham, Mary Lue Warner, Virginia Longmire and the late Howard Longmire and Dr. Thomas Bowlus; as well as event organizers and volunteers.

A highly entertaining group, classic pop quartet “The Unexpected Boys from New York,” had hands clapping, toes tapping and even Cheryl, wife of former Otterbein Board of Trustees’ Chair Tom Compton, up on stage as the object of their crooning. A moving video tribute to Otterbein was shown. It is available for viewing on the anniversary page of Otterbein’s web site, as are numerous photos from the evening.

The event kicked off a year-long celebration of Otterbein’s centennial, with events planned for all 11 of Otterbein’s locations, which includes five full-service continuing care retirement communities, five skilled nursing and rehabilitation neighborhoods and one home health agency.

Otterbein started as a home for orphans and the elderly in 1912 at the site of a former Shaker plantation. It serves more than 2,000 people and is related to the East Ohio and West Ohio Conferences of the United Methodist Church.