Press Releases
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor Announces New Board Members
ANN ARBOR, MI – November 4, 2020 – The Ronald McDonald House Charities Ann Arbor (RMHCAA) announces the addition of four new members to its Board of Directors for the 2020-21 year. New members include Patrick Cavanaugh, Dr. John Charpie, Aaron Gramling, John Hamilton, and Russell West.
Patrick Cavanaugh is a Commercial Loan Officer at Chelsea State Bank. He is involved in the community serving as a trustee for the Foundation for Saline Area Schools for nine years, and was vice president of their board for four years. In addition, Cavanaugh has been involved with the Washtenaw United Way and is on the board of Ele’s Place. He and his wife serve as vice chairs of both the 2020 and 2021 Red Shoe Affair event.
Dr. John Charpie is Director of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology and Co-Director of the UM Congenital Heart Center at Michigan Medicine’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. The patients he cares for are the children of many of the families who stay at RMHCAA’s two Houses and he has been a long-time supporter of the organization. Dr. Charpie graduated from the Boston University School of Medicine, did his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, and has been with Michigan Medicine since 1992.
Aaron Gramling is Director of Device Operations at Michigan Medicine and has been with the hospital system since 1998. He is an active participant in the Mott Family Network helping patients have access to computers, and has assisted with technology needs at North Star Reach Camp. Gramling is excited to work with the families at RMHCAA. He is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
John Hamilton was Corporate Vice President International at Conmed Corporation a global medical technology company for over 17 years and is currently retired. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Hamilton serves as an alumni board member on the National Advisory Board for the Congenital Heart Care Program at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. He and his wife, Janet, have sponsored the Main House’s dairy fridge for the families since it’s inception.
Russell West is the Controls and Software Engineering Manager at Borg-Warner’s Propulsion Technical Center in Auburn Hills. He has had first-hand experience with RMHCAA as he and his wife, Heather, stayed at both of RMHCAA’s Houses for many months after the birth of their first child who was born with a congenital heart defect. Russ has been a volunteer with the organization since 2017. He has served on the Family Centered Care Advisory Council and is currently co-chair. He also volunteered for the Hospitality a la Carte program and he and Heather have brought friends and family members to cook dinners at the Main House.
The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor (RMHCAA) is to provide families of children experiencing a serious illness or injury requiring hospitalization or treatment a “home away from home”, which assists in alleviating the families’ emotional and financial stress. RMHCAA has two houses; the Main House which provides housing for 29 families each night, and a House on the 10th floor of Michigan Medicine C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital which houses 12 families a night. This year, the organization is celebrating its 35thanniversary. Since opening in 1985, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor has welcomed over 30,000 families.
