Debbie Curran McGarity ’91

Debbie Curran McGarity ’91 writes, “Gusties Chance Meeting at a Congressional Gala

When at the September 16 25th Congressional Gala in honor of the Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Debbie Curran McGarity ’91 happened to be talking about Minnesota to a small group of guests when Mark and Jean Anderson Raabe (’53) overheard her. “Did you just say Minnesota?” Mark asked Debbie, which began a wonderful conversation that produced several Minnesota connections among the most special being Jean and Debbie discovering they were both Gustavus graduates (Mark is Augsburg, class of ‘51). Debbie works in children’s health and wellness for Sanofi, the global healthcare company, and Mark and Jean have been volunteering at The Inn since its inception in 1990 when Mark was at Merck & Co, also a global healthcare company. Sanofi and Merck were the underwriters of the gala, and Mark currently serves on The Inn’s Board. The Inn is a residential “place like home” for sick children and their families. Children come from across the country and around the world to stay together with their families in The Inn’s healing environment while receiving groundbreaking medical treatments at the NIH, the world’s leading biomedical research center.

Pictured L to R: Debbie, Jean and Mark at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.”