561 Fleming Street, Hendersonville, NC 28739
(828) 233-2700

General Frank Blazey’s Story

When the Pardee Foundation called about the capital campaign for the new Comprehensive Cancer Center, Blazey shocked his visitors by saying, “I’ll make it easy for you.” He wanted to donate $25,000 in honor of his daughter, Gay Burgess Blazey, who died of colon cancer in 1990 at age 42.

Pardee will name a chemotherapy treatment room in her honor. Blazey and his wife also had two sons, both of whom served in the military.

Frank Blazey graduated from West Point in 1946, and went on to serve as a young Captain in the Korean War. He was awarded a Silver Star for his leadership as company commander in the 2d Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division. Blazey served on the front lines in combat, in an advisory role in the early years of the Vietnam War, and then went back to West Point, where he earned an MBA. After his retirement from the military in 1974, Blazey worked for Coca-Cola and a manufacturing company.

Read the full story here.

– Hendersonville Lightning, May 18, 2016

Andrew Schmidt

Andrew Schmidt joined Pardee Hospital Foundation in November 2023 as a Donor Engagement Officer. Andrew began his career in fundraising at his alma mater, Sewanee: The University of the South, as an assistant director in charge of reunions and volunteers, working on milestone giving campaigns as well as alumni engagement and stewardship events. Andrew holds a BA in Philosophy from Sewanee and recently earned a MA in Applied Arts & Sciences from the Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Andrew previously served the Henderson Country community as an Advancement Analyst at nearby Kanuga Conference Center, where he was responsible for donor database administration, prospect research, and raising funds in support of a $15M capital campaign centered on a comprehensive renovation of the then-47-year-old Kanuga Lake Inn. Andrew looks forward to helping advance the mission of UNC Health and Pardee Hospital Foundation across the Western North Carolina region, and particularly in Transylvania County. When he’s not out and about visiting with donors, you can usually find Andrew scampering around DuPont and Pisgah with his wife, Sara, preschool-age son, Arthur, and new-born son, Rhodes.