Three Community Leaders to Receive Friend of Mercy Award
Service to ministries in Tri-Lakes Region cited by Sisters of Mercy

Plattsburgh—Three business and community leaders from the Tri-Lakes Region will be honored for their charitable work in support of the Sisters of Mercy, Regional Community of New York at the annual Friend of Mercy Awards Dinner on April 27 in Lake Placid. Recipients of this year's Friend of Mercy Award are Chandler M. Ralph, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake/Lake Placid; Robert T. Reiss, owner of Northland Motors, Inc., Raybrook; and Jeremiah M. Hayes of the law firm Jeremiah M. Hayes, Tupper Lake, NY.

“We are indebted to these fine community members for their work on behalf of our Tri-Lakes Region ministries,” said Sr. Suzanne Elliott, RSM, President of the Sisters of Mercy, Regional Community of New York. “Their tireless efforts are a blessing to the Mercy tradition of service. Their dedication and loyalty have literally defined what it means to be a Mercy friend and supporter.”

Chandler Ralph is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake/Lake Placid. Prior to joining Adirondack , she was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Hospital of Watertown, a 250-bed hospital that was restructured into a 300-bed nursing home and outpatient center and eventually became part of Catholic Healthcare East. “Chandler was invaluable to us during that transition period,” said Sr. Rose Curtin, RSM who worked with her. “Not only was she skillful in managing us through a difficult period, but she showed great care and concern for each employee.”

Jeremiah M. Hayes, Esq. has been associated with the Mercy healthcare ministry in Tupper Lake since the 1970s. His service began when Mercy Health Care Center was an acute care hospital. Over the years, Hayes has participated in the evolution of Mercy’s healthcare ministry in the Tri-Lakes Region, always maintaining his fidelity to the Board and its mission. He recently resigned from the Uihlein Mercy Healthcare Board. “Jerry has gone through sweat and sacrifice to maintain our health ministry in the North Country,” said Sr. Agnes O’Grady, RSM, who worked with him. “He has done so much, especially for the poor. We will be forever grateful to Jerry.”

Robert R. Reiss, a businessman from Lake Placid, has been associated with Uihlein Mercy Healthcare from its earliest days and is currently Chairman of the Board. Reiss and his family gifted the Uihlein chapel to the Sisters where the family has observed an annual memorial service to honor his father. “Bob has been a tremendous, steadfast, and loyal supporter of our ministry,” said Sr. Denise Wilke, RSM. “He is a product of Mercy education and since then has always remained close.”

This year’s Friend of Mercy celebration will take place at the Lake Placid Resort in Lake Placid on Friday evening, April 27. For ticket information, contact Event Coordinator Carole Diehl at 518-562-0525.

The Sisters of Mercy, Regional Community of New York, operate two high schools (Our Lady of Victory Academy, Dobbs Ferry, NY and St. Catharine Academy, Bronx, NY), health institutions (Our Lady of Mercy Health Care Center, Worcester, MA; Mercy Health Care Center, Tupper Lake, NY; Uihlein Mercy Center, Lake Placid, NY, sponsored through Catholic Health East), and social institutions (Mercy Center, Bronx, NY; McAuley Nazareth Home for Boys, Leicester, MA; St. Joseph Residence for Women, Worcester, MA).


Editors: For photographs of this year’s Friend of Mercy Award recipients, please contact Jeff Fogliano at 212-687-0607. To cover the Friend of Mercy Awards banquet, contact Carole Diehl at 518-562-0525.