Save the date! 

The 5th Annual Associates Luncheon will be held Friday, March 16, 2012 at Cherokee Town Club. Stay tuned for details about the event! If you would like to purchase a table or an individual ticket, please contact Ashley Vance at 678-686-5905 or avance@skylandtrail.org.

Champagne Reception 11:15 am
Lunch 12 noon

Patron Sponsor: $1,500
Table Sponsor: $850
Individual Ticket: $85

All proceeds will benefit Skyland Trail programs and services.

Skyland Trail’s 14th annual Benefits of Laughter raised approximately $550,000 for the organization’s Financial Aid Program, which provides need-based aid to our clients and families.

This year’s sold-out event was held November 10th at the St. Regis Atlanta Buckhead and featured entertainment from Barbara and Vince Dooley, Georgia football legends who delighted the crowd with tales of family and football. Skyland Trail Board Member Jay Mitchell and his wife Denise served as chairs for the event. Mr. Mitchell is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Piedmont Healthcare, Inc. Mrs. Mitchell has led volunteer efforts for the Westminster, Lovett and W.T. Jackson schools in many different capacities. Mr. Mitchell also served as Corporate Chair, securing more than 20 business sponsors for the event.

Nancy Bryant served as Patron Committee Chair. The Honorary Chairs were community leaders and long-time friends of Skyland Trail, Helen and John Gordon. Since 1998, this ‘Seriously Funny Night’ has helped Skyland Trail clients recover from mental illness, and has played a key role in raising mental health awareness in the Atlanta community.

Nancy Bryant, John Gordon, Helen Gordon, Denise Mitchell, Jay Mitchell, Beth Finnerty

Skyland Trail was thrilled to host our inagaural Dorothy C. Fuqua Lecture last week. It was the kick-off to a series committed to the engagement and education of the Atlanta community on issues of mental health. We were joined by Mark Hyman Rapaport, MD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behaviroal Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine, who spoke on the ways the Atlanta community will b transforming psychiatry in the next few years–pretty amazing information!

I’d like to thank all of our friends who were with us to make this night such a special one.  We enjoyed having you all here and we look forward to doing it again!

We’ll be posting video from the event, so be sure to check back soon.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures!

Best,
Beth Finnerty, President

We’re exactly two weeks away from our big fundraising gala, “Benefits of Laughter,” and we could not be more excited! This year’s event promises to be a success.

Thanks to the dedication of chairs Denise and Jay Mitchell, who also serves as corporate committee chair,  and patron committee chair Nancy Bryant, we have once again secured several high-level sponsors and patrons for our annual event.

We celebrated our patrons last week at our Patron Party, held at the lovely home of Shearon and Taylor Glover.

Pictures from that night can be found:  http://www.skylandtrail.org/photo/sky10202011_0004.jpg

I can’t wait to see everyone at the St. Regis!

Sincerely,

Beth Finnerty

President/Skyland Trail

School may be out (or almost out!) but we’ve got learning on the agenda at Skyland Trail this summer. Be sure to check out our Community Education page and mark your calendars!

This Friday, June 10th we have a Lunch and Learn we’re hosting with the Hanley Center on “Epidemiology of Addiction and the Molecular Mechanisms of Addiction” . We hope to see you there!

And if you do come by, it will be a great opportunity for you to meet Christina Liggett Tse, MA, NCC, LAPC, our new Community Relations & Education Coordinator.  You might know Christina from the various roles she has served at Skyland Trail, including Clinical Intern, ‘Flex’ Primary Counselor, and Utilization Review Specialist.  We are excited to have her in her new role!

Hope to see you Friday,

Beth Finnerty

President/CEO

A huge thank you to everyone who was out at Chastain Horse Park last Friday to celebrate with us at the Southern Shindig. It was a fabulous night of food, music and dancing to support the programs and services at Skyland Trail. 

We raised more than $10,000 in funds and we introduced a lot of new friends to the incredible work we do at Skyland Trail to help adults with mental illness.

The Southern Shindig featured BBQ by Five Star Culinary Group and music by the band The Maxx. Skyland Trail is also appreciative of Sunbelt Technology, LLC and Sherlock Wine Merchants for their support of the event.

We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of the Shindig’s volunteer leadership committee: Morgan Akers, Hunter Amos, Wes Bradshaw, Julia Carpenter, Sam Dunlap, Chris Glover, Lauren Head, Molly Hennessy, Catherine Love, Street Nalley, Ashley Robinson, John Rooker, Johnny Schumacher, Ashley Shepherd, Anna Stephens, Jeremy Wing and Robby Wynne.

Anne and Todd Reich, Anna Stephens

Robby Wynne and Street Nalley

Check out more photos at http://www.skylandtrail.org/photo/shindig-002.jpg

And be sure to check out next month’s Simply Buckhead magazine, as we’ll be featured on their “Simply Charitable” page–we can’t wait!

Best,
Beth Finnerty

President/CEO

We hope you’ll be able to join us Friday, May 13th for our first ever Southern Shindig! What’s the Southern Shindig–it’s a night of music, food and fun at Chastain Park supporting all the great things we do at Skyland Trail.

For more information:call or email Ashley Vance: avance@skylandtrail.org or 678-686-5905 or go to http://www.skylandtrail.org/special-event/southern-shindig to buy tickets.

Honorary Chairs Helen and John Gordon (left) with Event Chairs Denise and Jay Mitchell

We are thrilled to announce the volunteer leadership for its 2011 Benefits of Laughter gala, to be held November 10^th at the St. Regis Atlanta.

Skyland Trail Board Member Jay Mitchell and his wife Denise will serve as chairs for the fundraising event. Mr. Mitchell is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Piedmont Healthcare, Inc., where he is responsible for all legal affairs of the non-profit four hospital system in the greater Atlanta area, including flagship Piedmont Hospital. Mrs. Mitchell has been involved with the Westminster, Lovett and W.T. Jackson Schools in many different capacities. She has also served on various committees at the Cathedral of Christ the King.

The Honorary Chairs for Benefits of Laughter 2011 are community leaders and long-time friends of Skyland Trail, John and Helen Gordon. Mr. Gordon is a member of the Board of Directors and chairs Skyland Trail’s Marketing and Education Committee. He is the owner and president of Gordon Document Products, Inc., and the founder and managing partner for Perfect Circle Energy Solutions, LLC.  Mrs. Gordon attended The Westminster Schools and has been a past fundraiser for the alumni association. She is also a past board member of The Forward Arts Foundation and has chaired their flea market event and fashion show. 

Comedy entertainment for the 14^th Annual Benefits of Laughter will be provided by Southern icons Vince and Barbara Dooley, who are guaranteed to bring laughter with their tales of Georgia football and beyond. 

Event entertainment: Vince and Barbara Dooley

Since 1998, this ‘Seriously Funny Night’ has helped Skyland Trail clients recover from mental illness, as all proceeds from the event benefit the Financial Aid Fund. For more information about sponsorship, or to reserve a table, please contact Ashley Vance at 678.686.5905 or at avance@skylandtrail.org. 

We hope you’ll be able to join us November 10th!

Sincerely,
Beth Finnerty

President/CEO

There is no doubt that we hit the ground running at the start of 2011. As soon as we completed a very successful 2010, we challenged ourselves to improve for the future and, one month into this new year, I can say there are a lot of big things underway here at Skyland Trail.  Our dedication and our commitment to clients, their families and the community remains constant. But we’re looking for ways we can expand who we serve and touch even more lives with our message of hope.

Last week, Skyland Trail’s Board of Directors gave the green light to our next Strategic Plan, laying the groundwork for major initiatives starting this year. It updates our mission and our vision to reflect our new direction and our new, expanded reach. Our planning team worked hard to create a framework that will allow us to grow and expand, but still maintain the strong community focus that has made us a recognizable force for mental health treatment.

I’m pleased to share with you our new vision: To lead innovative psychiatric treatment in America.

And with this new focus, our mission that will lead us through the next Strategic Planning process: Skyland Trail inspires people with mental illness to thrive through a holistic program of evidence-based psychiatric treatment, integrated medical care, research and education.

This is Skyland Trail’s fifth strategic plan in the 22 years of our organization’s history. We have always been bold in laying forth our goals, and with each new plan, we have successfully achieved every objective—always with our vision and mission as our defining guide.. As we lay the groundwork for the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan, we will no doubt make our mark with a vision and mission that allow us to enhance our services and expand our reach.

I look forward to updating you soon about our plans and our progress.

Sincerely,
Beth Finnerty

President/CEO