Dr. Edward “Ned” and Barbara Hoppin received the Soaring Eagle Award, the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Foundation’s highest award in philanthropy during its annual Inner Circle Recognition Dinner, in which donors were honored.
SBL Health Foundation Director Amy Card said, “Ned and Barbara Hoppin have been a staple in our community for nearly 25 years and have given so much of themselves to the organizations that are important to them. They have a long career of dedication and volunteerism to Sarah Bush Lincoln and to the communities of which they were a part. We were honored to recognize them with the Soaring Eagle award.” The event was April 18.
The Hoppins moved with their two children, Scott and Pete from California to Mattoon in 1991 when Dr. Hoppin was hired to head up the then new Regional Cancer Center. The move also brought them closer to family. As a medical oncologist and hematologist, he was the first employed physician and the medical director of the center, until 2008 when he became the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Sarah Bush Lincoln, a position he held until 2012. Dr. Hoppin remains active on the boards of directors of Coles County Council on Aging, Mattoon Area Community Foundation, Lake Land College Nurse Advisory Committee, and Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation.
Mrs. Hoppin, while a practicing nurse in California, began her legacy of volunteerism when she helped lead a Cancer Crusade that raised $48,000. At Sarah Bush Lincoln, she has been instrumental in philanthropic endeavors. She was a charter member of WomenConnected, a women’s giving circle within the Health Foundation that has grown to 73 members and awarded nearly $400,000 in just more than 10 years.
She has also been a Volunteer Guild member since arriving in Mattoon, serving two terms as president and was named Volunteer of the Year in 2002. She has been a member and chair of the La Grande Soirée, an annual event that raises funds for healthcare scholarships, and served on the Women & Children First Campaign in the late 1990s. She has served of the Foundation’s annual Golf Benefit committee and as president of the Coles-Cumberland Medical Society Auxiliary.
Her volunteerism extends past Sarah Bush Lincoln. She has been an active member of P.E.O. Chapter MF and is currently the treasurer of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. She and Dr. Hoppin have been active with the Millikin University Parent’s Association Board, a school from where their son, Scott graduated.
Past Soaring Eagle Award recipients include Joan Cole, Dr. Stan and Maggie Huffman. Dick Lumpkin, Dr. Barrie and Shirley Hunt, Lowell and Nellie Massie, Virginia Smith, Selma Sweeney, Dr. Charles & Marge Ramsey, Earl & Dora Bumpus, Frank Fisher & Betty Lou Fisher, Dr. Mack Hollowell, Edward Ritter Jr., Mel Lockard, and Howard and Christine Knoebel.