Linda Assard welcomed a steady stream of guests to her elegantly decorated Hempfield home on Dec. 1, for the Westmoreland Hospital Christmas Auction.
Inside the door, they added to a basket overflowing with books destined for siblings of babies born in the Greensburg hospital’s Family Additions Maternity Center.
Books for Babies is one of many auxiliary projects, supported by the annual auction and holiday party.
Founded in 1906 as the Women’s Association of Westmoreland Regional Hospital, the auxiliary has participated in tasks as diverse as sewing garments for use at the hospital in its early days to, more recently, donating $100,000 toward renovations of the intensive care unit.
Of current funds, $25,000 will go to breast cancer care and $12,500 is slated for scholarships for area students pursuing medical careers or staff members furthering their education, said Joan Stairs, who co-chaired the event with Joyce Lloyd.
Past projects — some on hold due to lingering covid concerns — have included a dollhouse and miniature show, dinners, sales and operation of the hospital’s gift shop.
Guests mingled on two levels of Assard’s stately, art-filled home, visiting the kitchen for an array of heavy hors d’oeuvres and stopping by the bar for libations poured by Dr. Kevin Bartolomucci and David Delaini.
On the silent auction block were more than 60 items, ranging from a lottery ticket tree to designer handbags and Gucci scarf to a four-night stay in a three-bedroom condo at Seven Springs Mountain Resort.
Auction committee members included Assard, Jo Ellen Numerick, Maureen Cutrell, Jennifer Kettering, Darlene Nagrosky, Jan Taylor Condo, Teryl Gleason and Karen Douglas.
Seen: Sarah Fullmer, Ellen Smail, Kelly Smail, Sally Loughran, Teri Bowes, Debra Lanager, Debbi Hamaty, Diane Nickoloff, Linda Brown, Molly Robb Shimko, Annie Urban, Debbie Reese, Linda Bennett, Karen Douglas, Carla Rusnica, Diane Dale, Annah Sukay, Cathy Kindel and Maureen Milchak.
Also, Jen Saxman, Allison Vecchiola, Heather Abegglen, Allison Mento, Katie Weimer, Jessica Black Leigey, Alicia Laskey, Kaitlyn Hartman, Rebecca Pich, Sherri Plundo, Bethany Pajak, Elizabeth Cutrell, Paris Strayer and, directing traffic as guests arrived, George Shaner and Michael Philopena.
