Photo by Bart Moss
1. A silent auction serves as a centerpiece of a special W.C. Handy Festival event to support Red Bay Hospital Friday.

By Bart Moss
For the FCT

The Dempsey Foundation of Red Bay Hospital brought the W.C. Handy Fest to Red Bay for the first time Friday night. The foundation was started in 1996 and has served to award scholarships for students looking to enter the medical field and to help furnish and equip Red Bay Hospital.
The Handy Fest entertainment featured the band Off The Chain. The group performed a mixture of jazz and blues for an hour while attendees were served dinner and participated in a silent auction. The auction raised more than $5,000 for the foundation.
“We are proud to be able to bring a bit of the Handy Fest to Red Bay,” said Ronald Thorn, chairman of the Red Bay Hospital advisory board. “We are blessed to have dedicated people work at Red Bay Hospital and those on the Helen Keller staff who assist our hospital.”
The 2015 Dempsey Foundation project is focused on providing additional services and equipment to increase the level of care for patients recovering from a variety of illnesses. The resources obtained from the foundation’s work aim to provide top-quality outpatient rehabilitation while helping patients improve their ability to perform daily tasks.
“The foundation’s work goes a long way to helping our hospital provide the services that patients need and expect,” said Glen Jones, Red Bay Hospital CEO. “We appreciate all the hard work our foundation members do and the sponsors of this great event.”
This year’s three scholarship recipients were recognized. They were Hannah McKinney of Red Bay, Lacey Brekeen of Belmont and Shelby Poteet of Belmont.