By John R. Schirmer
News-Leader staff
Howard Memorial Hospital Foundation Director Summer Harrison has submitted her resignation effective July 26, according to hospital CEO Debra Wright.
Harrison has held the position since June 2017.
She is leaving HMH to work for a bank in Hope.
During her tenure as director, Harrison planned the 2018 gala “which resulted in $38,500 being donated from its proceeds to offset the expense to upgrade mammography to 3D,” Wright said. “She also introduced new fund-raising activities, participated in every employee satisfaction fund-raiser and provided assistance with many other activities of the hospital. I wish her success in her future endeavors and will miss her.”
Wright said that Harrison “made herself an asset to the organization, and I appreciate everything she has done for the hospital and the HMH Foundation.”
Gary Dan Futrell, chairman of the foundation’s board of directors, said Harrison “has done a great job for us. She worked well with our board and with the hospital staff. She conducted fund-raisers and planned a successful gala. We will definitely miss her.”
Wright said Harrison will be difficult to replace. “We had a hard time finding qualified applicants before she applied, so the position was vacant for months last year; and I just hope the same situation does not occur again. The [horizontal property regime] duties and tracking foundation expenses and donations require a person who is good with Quick Books and has a creative/event planning flair, and having both of these traits in a person is very hard to find.”
Harrison holds a business administration degree with an emphasis in marketing from Southern Arkansas University at Magnolia.
Her background is in the financial industry, including “every aspect of banking you can imagine,” she said last year when she became foundation director.
Before coming to Nashville, she worked in Texarkana, where she also volunteered with a number of organizations, including the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.