Awards Recognition Ceremony
A huge thank you to everyone who came to our Annual Awards Ceremony to celebrate the incredible individuals and businesses who help support our mission each and every day
SNMH Foundation 2023 Awardees
SNMHF Volunteer Outreach Steering Committee
Volunteer Group of the Year
The Volunteer Group of the Year Award recognizes the efforts of a group that provides valuable support to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation by providing financial and in-kind support through volunteerism. This business has helped SNMHF achieve its goals and mission.

This year we are proud to honor the SNMH Foundation Volunteer Outreach Steering Committee. This team is
there for our organization at all events, providing strategy and organization for our volunteer program, and represents SNMH Foundation in our community at community outreach events. This team also puts on an annual fundraiser each year that started with mother’s day gift baskets and then they created the very popular Message in a Book fundraiser.
Lizabeth Meyers
Volunteer of the Year
The Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes the efforts of a western Nevada County resident that volunteers for Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation. Through time and service, the individual has helped the Foundation meet its goals.

Liz Meyers has been a volunteer since 2015 and comes into the office once a week to support the team. She also helps at all of our events and has been a dedicated part of our family. Liz has provided over 1,000 hours of volunteer service to SNMH Foundation.
Autometrix & South Fork Vodka
Businesses of the Year


The Business of the Year Award recognizes the efforts of a business entity that provides valuable support to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation by providing financial and in-kind support through volunteerism. This business has helped SNMHF achieve its goals and mission.
This year we had two outstanding nominees for Business of the Year and had to recognize both of them for their efforts to support the community during the pandemic. Autometrix and South Fork Vodka both are well deserving of this award. Autometrix made face shields for Hospital employees when personal protection equipment was running drastically low. South Fork Vodka supplied the Hospital and community with hand sanitizer. Both companies selflessly did what was needed to keep our community safe.
Drs. Mark and Melisa Agness
Humanitarians of the Year
The Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation Board of Directors created the Glaister A. Dawkins Humanitarian Award in 2002 to recognize Western Nevada County residents that have made humanitarian contributions at a global level while serving people in countries all over the world.

Melisa retired as a radiologist three years ago after working at Insight Imaging for over ten years. Much of her career has been spent specializing in mammography and education with a focus on women. She served her first medical mission in Ethiopia through Samaritan’s Purse and then joined the Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Assistance Response Team approximately two and a half years ago. She has also served in Wisconsin working with Afghan refugees and in the Ukraine in the last year.

Mark practiced for seventeen years as an Emergency Room Physician at Rideout Hospital in Marysville and retired two years ago to pursue medical missions. After doing his first medical mission in 2003 in Nairobi he was ready for more. He has served in Bulgaria, Mexico, and Ethiopia. He joined the Disaster Response Assistance Team of Samaritan’s Purse four years ago and has been able to serve in Italy, Honduras, Sudan, and Southern California. He deployed three times to the Ukraine and most recently in Turkey.
Monty East
Curtis Grimes Perpetual Leadership Award
The Curtis Grimes Perpetual Award is presented annually to a volunteer who has demonstrated the outstanding leadership that Curtis Grimes exemplified. Nearly two decades ago Curtis Grimes was instrumental in creating Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation. Through his efforts the Foundation is able to provide necessary financial backing to support the quality care SNMH provides the community.

Monty East joined the Hospital Board in October of 2015 and also served on the Hospital Foundation board. Monty is an active member of the Philanthropy Committee providing strategy and raising funds for key projects and initiatives over the year.