Latest News from Volunteers in Medicine

August 2008:

Successful Community Partnerhsip for VIM Chattanooga

The second annual VIM Randy Smith Gold Classic was a success for the VIM Clinic in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The clinic raised over $22,000 in this year’s event with participation from Randy Smith, the Sports Director, and other members of the Channel 3 Eyewitness News team. These dollars will fund over three weeks of clinic operations and provide medical care services to nearly four hundreds people. This care is valued at $92,670 and is well over the equivalent of $350,000 in Emergency Room rates.

In Spring 2007, without any inside connections at Channel 3, a member of the Chattanooga golf committee contacted Randy Smith about being the spokes person for the VIM golf tournament. Once Randy expressed interest, Nancy Franks, the Clinic President, invited him and Station Manager, Tom Tolar, for a clinic tour. As luck would have it, during the tour, a patient picking up her meds recognized Randy and stuck her head in the door to tell the group how much the clinic meant to her. This serendipitous visitor got their attention, as Randy and Tom hung on her every word.

With health care as the number one requested news items from the public, Randy and Tom were well aware of the need before they visited the clinic. Tom realized the fit between the two organizations and agreed to support the golf tournament. Randy, along with the Channel 3 PR person, participated in the golf committee meetings. He also encouraged many of the local college coaches to put a team together for the tournament.

In his 20 years as Sports Director, Randy has turned down many offers to be a spokes person for one nonprofit sporting event or another. Fortunately for VIM Chattanooga, this was the first time Tom felt that there was a good fit for the station and the nonprofit sporting event. The partnership with Randy, Tom, and Channel 3 provides publicity and credibility for the clinic. And through this committed partnership, VIM Chattanooga was able to increase their income over last year’s event.