For many Moore County couples, and many others in surrounding communities, the celebrations of the holiday season begin with the FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital Auxiliary Holiday Ball.
The elegant event draws several hundred people to Pinehurst’s Carolina hotel each year, and this year will be no exception.
The 2003 Holiday Ball, a fund-raiser for the FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital Auxiliary, is set for Saturday, Dec. 13, in The Carolina’s ballroom. The evening will begin with cocktails, followed by dinner and dancing. This year, a new band will highlight the occasion.
Party on the Moon, an 11-piece dance group from Atlanta, features vocalists, a five-piece rhythm section, three horns and a percussionist. The band’s repertoire ranges from the mellow sounds of the Eagles to the up-tempo Motown and R&B tunes of The Temptations and Tina Turner with swing, beach, classic rock, country, Bob Marley and Prince added to the mix.
The band’s seasoned veterans have performed with the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey, the O’Jays, Huey Lewis, The Temptations and Bob Seeger. With more than 100 years of combined performance experience, they include jingle- and song-writers, producers, “Star Search” winners, soundtrack scorers and backup vocalists for Peabo Bryson.
This year, as last, proceeds from the Holiday Ball will benefit the FirstHealth Child Development Center. The Hospital Auxiliary is in the midst of a multi-year, $1 million pledge to the center, which is located on the campus of Moore Regional Hospital and serves the children of FirstHealth employees.
Ball Chairs Dr. and Mrs. Kirby (Joanne) Kilpatrick have a special interest in the center and the services it provides. A retired obstetrician and gynecologist with Pinehurst Surgical Clinic, Dr. Kilpatrick delivered more than 6,000 babies at Moore Regional Hospital in a Sandhills career that begin in 1974.
“It’s an honor for us to serve as ball chairmen since we see how important the Child Development Center is to the hospital,” says Joanne Kilpatrick, herself a former Auxiliary president. “It’s a wonderful facility and very well-run.”
The FirstHealth Child Development Center is one of only a handful of area child-care facilities that have earned a five-star rating from the N.C. Division of Child Development.
Auxiliary committees began planning for the 2003 Holiday Ball in August. “We have a lot of fun getting together with everyone and organizing everything about the Ball – from the venue to the entertainment, invitations, table favors, door prizes and menu,” Joanne Kilpatrick says.
Committee chairs for the 2003 Ball include Tina Fasolak and Rebecca Cummings, publicity; Margaret Page and Joanne Kilpatrick, table decorations; Mary B. Later, program books; Lynn Upchurch and Mary Lou Vaughan, ball arrangements; Enola Lineberger, reservations; and Margaret Page and Brenda Lyne of Lyne’s Furniture Gallery, table favors.
Jody Mincey and Brenda Lyne are in charge of door prizes, which in the past have included fine jewelry, special pottery pieces and global vacation getaways.
Brenda Bouser is a staff member of FirstHealth of the Carolinas Corporate Communications department.
