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PEEKSKILL, N.Y. It was a hairy situation Monday evening at The Quiet Man Pub as employees of Hudson Valley Hospital Center packed the house for a good cause.
For the past month, 35 male employees have been growing beards as part of the "Winning Winter Whiskers" fundraiser for the hospitals new Cheryl R. Lindenbaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. The employees each paid $50 to enter the fundraising contest and recruited donors to sponsor them.
For $20 the public was allowed to attend the event, which featured a bourbon tasting and live music.
At Monday's "Shave Off," dozens of employees had their beards removed by a professional barber staff.
"I'm glad there are a lot of nurses on hand," joked hospital President John Federspiel, the first employee to go under the blade.
Federspiel said the idea for the fundraiser came from a conversation between medical director Dr. Bill Higgins and himself.
"We came back from the holidays and we both said, Wasn't it great to not have to shave over the break,'" Federspiel said. "I said do it in February and make a fundraiser out of it."
Higgins added, "This is an example of be careful what you wish for. It's been fun and it was for a good cause."
"We put it out in an email blast to all of our contacts and just through word of mouth," said Allyson Curtis, special events manager. "A lot of departments got involved. It's a feel-good event where you can make a difference and it's fun."
The fundraiser raised about $30,000 by Monday's event, Federspiel said.
The full list of contest participants:
Patrick Bolbrock, HVHC Emergency Department
James Cowan, Yorktown Heights
William Dauster, HVHC Vice President of Marketing & Foundation
Bernie Dolan, HVHC Emergency Department
John Federspiel, HVHC President
Dr. Barry Geller, HVHC Associate Director of Emergency Services
Christopher Guastella, HVHC Radiology Department
Matt Haun, HVHC Wellness Club
Liam Higgins, Birdsall House, Peekskill
John Higgins, New York City
Dr. William Higgins, Medical Director, Westchester Medical Practice
Robert Iglesias, HVHC Emergency Department
Billy Lang, HVHC Emergency Department
Ben Mad, HVHC Emergency Department
Andrew Melella, HVHC Radiology Department
Roberto Minuta, HVHC Emergency Department
Dr. Ron Nutovits, HVHC Director of Emergency Services
Sam Russo, HVHC Emergency Department
Steven Sniffen, HVHC Emergency Department
Dr. Patrick Thomas, Hudson Valley Cardiology Group
Mark Webster, HVHC Chief Financial Officer
Kenny Whalen, HVHC Emergency Department
Joe Whelan, The Quiet Man Public House, Peekskill
Joble Josephs, Radiology
Dr. Peter Gottesfeld, Northern Westchester Family Medicine
Jason Gabari, RN, Progressive Care Unit
Dr. Neritan Mani, Medical Director, Hospitalist Division
Alex Staino, Cortlandt Manor
Greg Schmidt, DC, Croton-on-Hudson
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