Dr. Gregory Van Winkle
This spring Dr. Gregory Van Winkle wrapped up 17 years of service on the Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital Foundation Board of Directors, a point of pride and achievement for the retired orthopedic surgeon who has spent a majority of his career at the hospital.
Volunteering for a cause you believe in is always the right thing to do, Dr. Van Winkle offers.
“We have a world-class facility with top notch staff in a community hospital setting. That combination is truly unique,” says Dr. Van Winkle, who currently oversees patient safety and utilization management with the hospital and is also an emeritus member of the Medical Staff and a medical director.
Dr. Van Winkle and his wife Mariann, who also graciously donates her time to the Community Outreach Health Clinic and many Foundation events, have supported the Foundation every year since it was founded in 1989.
They were honored with the Philanthropy Excellence Award in 2017 which recognizes individuals who demonstrate consistent and exceptional level of generosity through volunteerism and donations, improve the quality of life for people across the community and strengthen relationships between the hospital and other community partners.
Among Dr. Van Winkle’s favorite Foundation memories is chairing the 2013 Spring Splendor Gala at Miller Park with Mariann, which benefitted the Emergency Department expansion.
“There is no better way to support the health and well-being of our community than by supporting the Foundation,” he said. “The Foundation has done tremendous work in support of the hospital, especially in tough times as we’ve just been through.”
The Van Winkles are members of the Evergreen Society as they have included the Foundation in their estate planning.
Outside of the Foundation, Dr. Van Winkle and Mariann are involved with their church and mission trips to Piura, Peru to provide medical care to residents.
Sharon Ellis
Sharon Ellis In 1990, Sharon was tapped by former hospital board member Dick Becker to join the then Community Memorial Foundation Board of Directors. The Foundation was only a year old.
She delved into every area of the Foundation and served on many standing committees, including executive, scholarship, major gifts, the Golf Classic and allocations (which reviews funding proposals of new equipment and programs from individual departments to the Foundation). She served as board chair from 2015 to 2020.
“The culture of the Foundation and the culture of the hospital is at its core all about the people and all about the community,” says Sharon, a business and interpersonal communications consultant.
The longtime Menomonee Falls resident never shies away from an opportunity to spread the message about the exceptional care her family has received from dedicated health care workers. “The hospital saved my husband Jerry’s life. Twice. Twice I almost lost him,” Sharon recalls.
Sharon and Jerry are Evergreen Society members because supporting the hospital with a final, legacy contribution “is the logical and the right thing to do” after supporting the Foundation for decades.
After an amazing 30-year run on the board, Sharon retired in 2020. This summer she was presented with a tribute rock in the hospital’s Healing Garden, honoring her leadership and commitment as chair of the board.
James Hazzard
James Hazzard is the longest-serving member on the Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital Foundation board, a role he assumed in 1989 when the Foundation was chartered. He retired from the board in 2022.
Earlier this year, the gathering space in the Foundation office was named the James C. Hazzard Conference Room in his honor.
For three decades Jim was a guiding and stable force, offering wit and wisdom as the board supported the hospital and enhanced patient care and comfort.
“The hospital is a tremendous asset and provides superior care to the Menomonee Falls community,” says Jim, who also served as board chair from 1991 to 1997.
Jim served on the allocations committee and the major gifts task force. Jim and his wife Cathy, also an ardent Foundation supporter, are members of the Evergreen Society, including the Foundation in their estate planning.
Jim and Cathy have attended nearly every Spring Splendor Gala, a Foundation tradition and signature fundraising event, since 1990. They co-chaired the event in 2023.
Among Jim’s favorite memories is being part of the Cancer Center Capital Campaign in the 1990s and seeing the Foundation endowment grow “to a level I would not have originally thought possible.”
Jim wants everyone to know that funds raised by the Foundation remain in our hospital in Menomonee Falls. “It’s truly local.”
