Presenting the portraits are (L to R) Brian A. Nester, DO, MBA, LVHN President and Chief Executive Officer; Anne Baum, MS, President, Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital; Laurie Gostley Hackett, Director of Community Relations & Philanthropy, Air Products; and Steve Zieniewicz, President, Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest.
Air Products Gives Lehigh Valley Health Network Three Portraits
Art features Leonard Parker Pool, Dorothy Rider Pool and Carl Anderson, all pivotal to LVHN history
Air Products and Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) have a long history. Leonard Parker Pool, founder and longtime Chief Executive Officer of Air Products, along with Carl Anderson, Senior Vice President and Director of Air Products, were the driving force behind the construction of what is now LVH (Lehigh Valley Hospital)–Cedar Crest.
That’s why Laurie Hackett, Director of Community Relations and Philanthropy for Air Products, thought portraits of the Pools and Anderson that hung prominently at the previous Air Products headquarters in Trexlertown were a perfect fit for LVHN.
Connecting with community partners
As colleagues at Air Products prepared to transition to the new headquarters, they used the opportunity to connect with many community partners. Hackett and her team donated several art pieces and items where there was a historical connection, and much of the more modern artwork was shared with employees, retirees and the community through an auction to support United Way. But three of the beautiful paintings had a special significance to LVHN.
“The stunning portraits of Leonard Parker Pool, Dorothy Rider Pool and Carl Anderson have been prominently displayed at Air Products, and as we transitioned to our new global headquarters, we knew that they now belonged at LVHN because of our close relationship,” says Hackett.
Portraits presented to LVHN leadership
Hackett presented the portraits to Brian A. Nester, DO, MBA, LVHN President and Chief Executive Officer, and Steve Zieniewicz, President, LVH–Cedar Crest, on Tuesday, March 29. The portraits will be displayed in the Pool Pavilion.
“It’s extraordinary to have these portraits here. Leonard Parker Pool is considered the modern-day founder of LVHN. We can’t think of our mission, ‘to heal, comfort and care for our community,’ without thinking of Leonard Parker Pool and Carl Anderson,” says Nester.
Zieniewicz says he is proud to have the portraits displayed at LVH–Cedar Crest. “These portraits will serve as a reminder of Leonard Parker Pool and Carl Anderson’s generosity and focus on community health,” he says.
In addition to the portraits, which were commissioned in 1974, Hackett also presented an original watercolor painting of flowers that was created by Dorothy Rider Pool and displayed at Air Products. That painting will be hung in the auxiliary area at LVH–Cedar Crest.