Congratulations, Becca Miller: 2020 Stephanie Melemis Award Winner

Stephanie Melemis was a CMN Hospitals employee from Ontario, Canada. She had incredible passion for the children we serve and our cause as a whole. In November of 1998, Stephanie passed away after battling cancer. The Stephanie Melemis Award was created in her memory to recognize someone at CMN Hospitals who embodies Stephanie’s selflessness and commitment to service.

Congratulations to Becca Miller from Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, GA who is this year’s recipient of the Stephanie Melemis Award!

Becca Miller joined the Phoebe Foundation in 2016 and while each year brought significant challenges to her market, she brought the same energy, passion and enthusiasm she did to UGA Miracle Dance Marathon to increase funds for her hospital.

Soon after joining the foundation, a hurricane hit her area. Still reeling from the effects of the hurricane, Becca took on the challenge of re-engaging the hospital staff and activating all the CMN Hospitals partners in Albany. She launched “May is for Miracles”, a departmental miracle balloon fundraiser within the hospital. She challenged each hospital department to raise more money by selling miracle balloons. The results were terrific, and each department decorated the hospital walls with the Miracle Balloons they sold throughout the community. Becca worked to engage partners like Walmart, DQ, Publix, IHOP and REMAX in innovative ways. She has grown every partner’s fundraising, started new fundraising events like the REMAX Balloon Event, and brought RadioThon back to the market. She introduced new awards like the “The Jumpstart Award,” for the store that had raised the most money before the campaign.

In 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic began and Albany was one of the first hotspots making national news. Becca attacked this challenge with positivity and energy, spending her days in the Phoebe Cancer Center wiping down the areas used most by patients. At the same time, she continuously stewarded each of her partners to let them know they were in this together. She also began her own Facebook fundraising campaign, raising nearly $50,000 for her hospital – which is 25% of what her entire market raised the year before! Becca’s passion for people is unmatched. Every person who donated received a personal note thanking them for their donation to help the kids.

Her creativity and enthusiasm for the cause have earned the respect of her CMN Hospitals’ peers, community leaders and her foundation leadership.

Congratulations, again, Becca, and thank you to our friends at the McLane Company who have sponsored this award for many years, making it possible for us to recognize our amazing colleagues.