Dr. Rob Amonic, Secretary of the Board of the Mammoth Hospital Foundation, has had a sixty-plus year love affair with Mammoth Lakes. “I first skied in Mammoth in 1959 and fell in love with the mountain,” says Dr. Amonic.
When he found Mammoth, he was working as a plastic surgeon in southern California, but his heart was constantly called to the mountains, so he managed to secure a part-time practice at Mammoth Hospital’s then-fledgling Sierra Park Clinic.
“I would come up at least once a month. I bought my cabin near Eagle Lodge in 1970. I taught my daughter to ski at Mammoth, and I hope she will carry on the tradition with my grandchildren.”
Even after Dr. Amonic stopped working for Mammoth Hospital, he remained dedicated to the organization. He helped sponsor the building which now houses the Family Medicine, Pediatric and Dental clinics. Then, Mammoth Hospital Foundation Board Chair and former Mammoth Hospital CEO Gary Myers recruited him to the Foundation in 2013.
Dr. Amonic says this decades-long love he has for Mammoth Lakes and Mammoth Hospital will continue indefinitely, because he has included the Mammoth Hospital Foundation in his estate plan.
“I’m making this gift to the hospital to ensure that it is here for future generations,” says Dr. Amonic, who says he knows his newest grandson, August, will continue the family tradition of skiing at Mammoth. “I want the hospital to be there in case he needs it, but I also want it to be there for everybody else. The caliber of Mammoth Hospital, especially in such a remote community, is just astounding. It’s exceptional.”
Dr. Amonic, who also serves on the Board of Directors of St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, notes how easy it was to include the Mammoth Hospital Foundation in his living trust. “Anyone with a trust can simply add it in,” he says. “There is also a simple Planned Giving form available on the Foundation’s website.”
“The only problem is the Foundation can’t use my donation until I die, which is a funny detail,” jokes Dr. Amonic. “But this is a way to ensure that when that happens, my support of the Foundation, the hospital, and this community I love will continue.”