Compassion CHAMPIONS of Appalachia
Louder than Words BY KIM KOBERSMITH
C
hampions fight for a cause or on behalf of someone else and this year’s Champions of Appalachia embody that sentiment. Each year, Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) recognizes individuals and organizations that have had a positive, long-term impact in the lives of people in need in Appalachia. Eula Hall and Big Sandy Healthcare in Grethel, Kentucky, were recognized for their dedication to providing access to healthcare for all. MEI Total Elevator Solutions in Mankato, Minnesota, was recognized as a dedicated volunteer and financial partner with CAP.
(above) Eula Hall mentors a community health worker. (left) Hall stands in the rubble after the health clinic burned down in 1982.
“They have had such an impact in the region,” said Marci Hartness, a CAP philanthropy officer and coordinator of this year’s event. “The Champions of Appalachia award exists because CAP recognizes it takes so many different organizations to do this good work.” Eula Hall was an Appalachian woman with an eighth-grade education that wouldn’t take no for an answer. She saw needless suffering and preventable death as
22 The Mountain SPIRIT
a child, and grew up with the firm belief that no one should be without basic healthcare. Her legacy is the clinic she founded in 1973 to serve her neighbors.
Originally called Mud Creek Clinic, it became part of the nonprofit Big Sandy Healthcare in the late 1970s to provide more services and serve more people. “That clinic absolutely saved lives,” said Hall’s son, Dean Hall, reflecting on a childhood spent at the clinic. “A lot of people had basic diseases, and just needed antibiotics and tetanus shots.” In 1982, the clinic burned down. That would have stopped many people, but not Eula Hall. The staff saw
