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70 Years of Healthcare Progress
Seventy years ago, the people of Moultrie and Colquitt County were on the verge of fulfilling a dream that had been 25 years in the making.
Thanks to a $50,000 pledge from one of the community’s leading citizens – W.C. Vereen – a matching amount from local citizens, and a grant provided by the Public Works Administration the community was able to build its first hospital.
Several other attempts over the preceding 25 years had failed, although a couple of those attempts did proceed to the point of fund-raising.
But, in October 1939 a community still trying to free itself from the depths of the Great Depression succeeded in doing what it had previously been unable to do.
The doors to the new Vereen Memorial Hospital, located on South Main Street, were officially and ceremonially opened on Oct. 17, 1939 with a short dedication ceremony and a tour of the new facility.
Seventy years later, on Oct. 15 of this year, the community celebrated that milestone and the seven decades of progress since then with a Founder’s dinner and gala at the Colquitt County Arts Center.
During the gala, the Colquitt Regional Foundation recognized 28 new Founders, which is the designation given to donors of $10,000 or more. The new Founders recognized were:
A.C. Blount Concrete Finishing, Inc., Dr. & Mrs. David Adcock II, Mr. & Mrs. Victor Beadles, Mr. & Mrs. Gary Boley, Brasfield & Gorie, Mr. & Mrs. Cliff Bridges, Ms. Jane H. Brown, Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Estes, Mr. Wayne Evans, Dr. & Mrs. Mike Haney, Miss Elizabeth Jeter, Mr. & Mrs. Greg Johnson, Dr. & Mrs. Jim Keith, Dr. & Mrs. Howard Melton, Mobley Gin Co. / Mr. & Mrs. Mark Mobley, Moultrie Junior Woman’s Club, Ms. Edna Moye / Colquitt Regional Auxiliary, Dr. Josh Newton / Moultrie Eye Center, Mrs. Larry Peoples, Mr. & Mrs. Larry Sims, Mr. & Mrs. Harry Spires, Dr. Derrick Thornton—Moultrie Eye Center, S&S Food Administrators, Mr. & Mrs. David Tharp, Turning Point / Mr. Ben Marion, Ms. Barbara Vereen and Rev. & Mrs. Hugh Ward.