Board of Directors
President: Bert Speir
Vice President: Carmen McFadyen
Secretary: James Moore
Treasurer: Ken Hulett
Executive Director: Laura Blankenship (678-7656 ext 4020 or 321-7656 ext 4020)
Members
Bert Speir
Bert Speir retired in 2003 after 31 years in the Navy, first as a clinical psychologist and then as a healthcare administrator. Key career highlights included commanding officer of naval hospitals in Oak Harbor and Naples, Italy, and chief of staff at the Navy's medical headquarters command. He has been a director on the Foundation board since 2005, and is currently in his third consecutive term as board president. Bert and his wife, Mary Ann, have two adult children and three grandchildren.
Bob Thurmond
Bob Thurmond is a Financial Advisor. He and his wife Monica Uhl have been Clinton residents since 2002. Bob has a track record of success in business development, business and personal financial management solving complex financial issues for families and small businesses. He is a subject-matter expert in the fields of telecommunications and financial services. In addition to his business experience, Bob brings a record of accomplishment in corporate and government, as well as successful non-profit management experience.
Carmen McFadyen
Carmen McFadyen, a former RN, is a realtor with Windermere Real Estate. She is an active volunteer in the community, starting in 1971 when she moved to Coupeville and volunteered with the Dr. Paul Bishop Hospital Guild. She is currently volunteering with schools, her church, Soroptimist International of Coupeville and the Boys & Girls Club of Coupeville. Carmen strongly believes a good hospital is vital to a healthy community and takes great pride in the services Whidbey General Hospital provides.
Don Piercy
Don Piercy was born and raised on the East Coast where he initially pursued his career in bank marketing. His innovative career included working on the first cash dispensing machine in the country and later the nation’s first full-service automated teller (ATM) and the worldwide debit card still in use today. He is on the faculty of Embry-Riddle University and teaches marketing and corporate finance. Currently serving as chair of the Board of Trustees of Skagit Valley College, he is engaged in many other community and civic organizations. Don and his wife have four children, one grandchild and share their home in Coupeville with numerous animals. Don believes in giving back to his community and especially in the area of health care and believes that Whidbey General Hospital is a very important asset of health care for Whidbey Island.
James Moore
James Moore was the founder and CEO of Moore & Symons, a marketing consultancy in Atlanta, Georgia. Since selling the company, James has pursued his passion as an artist, and is one of the leading impressionist oil painters in the Northwest. James is equally passionate about his community and serves as the Chairman of the Historic Review Committee for Ebey’s Reserve, as well as Commissioner for Drainage District #6. His community involvement also includes the Plein Air Painter’s US Open, the Pacific Northwest Art School, the Whidbey Island Arts Council, the Open Studio Tour and the Navy League. James believes we are lucky to have Whidbey General Hospital and the good folks who work there.
Jane Mays, MD
Jane Mays, MD has been a pediatrician on Whidbey Island since 1979 and continues to practice part time at a small pediatric office based in Oak Harbor. She has served on boards of the American Cancer Society, the Skagit County Medical Bureau. Community medical education is an area of special interest to Jane, who believes that health care access and utilization can be greatly improved through the education of patients and their families.
Kathleen Baxley
Kathleen Baxley is a recent transplant to Coupeville, having moved here in 2008 with her longtime partner Lloyd to run The Captain Whidbey Inn. She brings expertise and experience from a long professional career in healthcare policy and finance. Her roots are in New York City, where she worked in the financial services industry, primarily at JP Morgan and Oppenheimer. Additionally, Kathleen has degrees from Stanford University and Colgate University and 8 years experience in magazine publishing. When not at the inn, she supports arts and animal welfare groups.
Ken Hulett
Ken Hulett has made the Pacific Northwest his home for most of his life, aside from a tour in Viet Nam with the US Army. He has spent 25 years in the banking business all with the same bank as it grew and changed names from Island Savings and Loan, InterWest Bank and Pacific Northwest Bank. After his retirement from the bank as Executive Vice President, he served as managing director of Genis Capital Management and a director of startup Mariner Bank of Port Townsend which has since been sold to Kitsap Bank. His community involvement includes the Oak Harbor Rotary Club, Habitat for Humanity of Island County, Oak Harbor Yacht Club, the Oak Harbor Pier Committee and past president of the Economic Development Council of Island County. Ken and his wife, Terri, have four children and five grandchildren.
Ken O’Mhuan, J.D.
Ken O’Mhuan, J.D. has been engaged in estate and business law practice since 1969. As an active community member, he has represented Whidbey Island on the Northwest Senior Services Board, the Uniquely Whidbey Trade Fair, and the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation. He has been a director of the Whidbey General Hospital Foundation for the past 10 years.
Lynn Bangston
Lynn Bangston is a businesswoman who has owned and operated real estate offices and a retail store. She currently has her own business in property management and vacation rentals on Whidbey Island. Over the past 10 years Lynn has worked as either a committee chair or committee member with a variety of community organizations to raise support for her community of South Whidbey.
Mike Cann
Mike Cann began his banking career in 1971 in Montana, moving to western Washington in 1985, and to Oak Harbor in 1994. After working at a number of banks in Montana and Washington, Mike retired in September 2008 as President/CEO of Whidbey Island Bank. A board member of the Whidbey General Hospital Foundation since the mid 1990’s, Mike is active in his community and enjoys family, traveling, and golf. He is married and has four children and several grandchildren.
Laura Blankenship, Executive Director
Laura Blankenship (Executive Director) was born and raised in Seattle, moving to Whidbey Island sixteen years ago. Her career in non-profit leadership and management spans more than 30 years and includes St. Joseph’s Hospital Recovery Center and Greenbank Farm. She was appointed Executive Director of Whidbey General Hospital Foundation in January 2007. Her volunteer interests and involvement have been in social and health care issues and more recently in the arts community.