RANDOLPH, Vt.—This week Gifford announced two recipients of the 2024 Philip D. Levesque Memorial Community Award as well as the recipient of the Dr. Richard J. Barrett Scholarship.
Lil Sunshine Child Care Center in Randolph and the Middle Branch Grange in Bethel each will receive $2,500 grants in memory of Levesque’s personal commitment to the White River Valley. Lil Sunshine plans to use the funds to help achieve its fundraising goal for necessary construction upgrades to a facility it will lease from Bethany Church for the new center. The award to Middle Branch will support construction of a new outdoor pavilion for the 112-year-old grange, which was severely damaged by fire in January.
The Gifford Board of Trustees established the Levesque Award in 1994 in memory of Philip D. Levesque, Gifford’s president and chief executive officer from 1973-1994. A committee of hospital staff and Levesque’s family reviewed applications to select a winner.
The $1,000 Barrett Scholarship, awarded in memory of longtime Gifford doctor Richard J. Barrett, will go to Stephanie Herring of Randolph Center. Herring, who’s worked at Gifford since 2007 as a licensed nursing assistant (LNA) for many years and then as a medical assistant, has returned to school to earn her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. She plans to apply the scholarship toward the cost of her continuing education, “so that I can be another resource to Vermont, and to the Randolph community that I continue to serve, so that I can help individuals with their mental health needs,” she said.
“Congratulations to our recipients, all of whom are so very deserving of these awards made possible by the legacies of Dr. Barrett and Phil Levesque,” said Gifford Vice President of Development Ashley Lincoln. “We look forward to seeing what’s next for them and for the communities that will benefit from their inspiring service and hard work.”
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CONTACT: Maryellen Apelquist, Communications Manager,
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Gifford is a community hospital in Randolph, Vt., with family health centers in Berlin, Bethel, Chelsea, Randolph, Rochester, and White River Junction; and specialty services throughout central Vermont. A Federally Qualified Health Center and a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the country, Gifford is a full-service hospital with a 24-hour emergency department and inpatient unit; many surgical services; daycare; two adult day programs; and a 30-bed nursing home. The Birthing Center, established in 1977, was the first in Vermont to offer an alternative to traditional hospital-based deliveries and continues to be a leader in midwifery and family-centered care. The hospital’s mission is to improve individuals’ and community health by providing and assuring access to affordable, high-quality health care in Gifford’s service area.
