Board Member Spotlight: Hilton Smith III

Hilton Smith III, incoming chair of the Children's Hospital Fund (CHF) Advisory Board, feels called to serve because of his deep personal connection to MUSC.

A personal connection

In 2011, Smith's daughters, Violet and Charlotte, were born prematurely at MUSC. Charlotte passed after eight days. Violet survived and went home almost 10 months later.

 

This experience left him with a deep appreciation for the MUSC Children's Hospital and a desire to make it even better for future families.

A history of involvement

Smith initially got involved with the children's hospital as a parent volunteer, providing guidance during the planning of the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital. His insights as the parent of two critically ill children helped guide the design of the pediatric intensive care unit and neonatal intensive care unit floors.

"I was able to work with the nurses, doctors, architects and other parents and make sure the new hospital was built with those experiences in mind," Smith said. "(Later), I applied to the CHF Board to help raise the money needed to build the hospital I had played a part in designing."

Smith joined the board in 2015, eventually serving as chairman of its development committee. Given his experience as a general contractor and his role in the design of the new hospital, he was able to convey to potential donors why certain aspects were so important and how supporting those improvements would directly benefit patient families.

"I even brought my daughter on some of the tours as a testament to the miracles possible at Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital," he said.

Looking to the future

Smith currently serves as vice chair of the board and plans to serve as chairman in the next term.

As incoming chair, he hopes to motivate and encourage the board to increase their engagement and get more involved to impact the community.

"While serving takes time and resources, what you get back is so much greater," he said.

He also hopes to support the leadership team at the hospital who work tirelessly to run an extremely complex health care system. To that end, he plans to work closely with the fundraising team at the Children's Hospital Fund to generate additional support for the hospital's growing list of priorities.

Smith says special events are a great and fun way for all supporters of the hospital's work – board members, hospital staff and the public – to get involved. His favorite events are the Bulls Bay Golf Invitational and the annual Cares for Kids Radiothon.

"Bulls Bay is such an enthusiastic outpouring of support and at the same time offers amazing music, food and exciting auction items to win," he said. "Additionally, Radiothon is an outstanding couple of days of stories, support and excitement for patients and employees. I love hearing it on the radio as I'm driving around town."