“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”  This quote by Aesop is the theme of a framed picture above my desk.  The picture is of a little red headed boy in jeans, tennis shoes, and a too large doctor’s coat, stethoscope poised and listening to the nose of a heavily bandaged, smiling puppy.  This picture definitely exemplifies the philosophy of the San Angelo Health Foundation.  With our mission “to enhance the quality of life for the people of the San Angelo area”, the board members of the SAHF in effect act like community physicians.  Instead of helping one patient at a time, we try to help create, as our vision statement says, “a healthy San Angelo community”.  Health, though, is not just physical and mental needs.  It encompasses a philosophy of support that “provides all citizens an opportunity to achieve their highest level of independence and contribution to the community”. 

As I start my first year as Chairman, I would like to thank the people who, through their efforts and commitment, made this wonderful organization and its mission possible.  To the doctors, administrators, trustees, employees and volunteers of Angelo Community Hospital, I say thank you!  When ACH was sold to Columbia/HCA in 1995, the proceeds funded the inception of the SAHF to the amount of $44 million.  The hospital’s mission to help people one at a time continues through the efforts of the Foundation trustees to help improve the quality of health for all our citizens.  To Myrtle Williams, I say thank you for the gift of $5.5 million to support healthcare in our community.  These funds have enhanced the mission of the SAHF since the Foundation’s inception in 1995.

Foundations have not been immune to the rocky financial climate of the past two years.  Under the guidance of Richey Oliver as Chairman and the staff and trustees, the Foundation has emerged on solid footing.  From a Foundation that started in 1995 with $44 million the community has received $32.5 million in project funding and still remains solid with assets of $51.5 million as 2010 begins.  This past year alone, the Foundation provided $2,332,507 to area non-profit organizations.  Our goal is to continue to support a healthy Concho Valley in perpetuity.  On behalf of the Trustees, I would like to encourage area nonprofits to contact our Foundation staff concerning funding for future community endeavors. 

Robert S. Patyrak, M.D., Chairman
Board of Trustees