Beebe Medical Center appoints Alex Sydnor vice president of External Affairs

Beebe Medical Center recently announced that Alex Sydnor, executive director of the Beebe Medical Foundation, has assumed additional responsibilities as vice president of external affairs.

In this capacity, he oversees the marketing and communications functions and is responsible for the facilitation of strategic planning efforts for Beebe Medical Center. He remains a member of the executive staff and executive director of the Beebe Medical Foundation, which is the fundraising and development arm for Beebe Medical Center.

As executive director of the foundation since 2007, Sydnor has been a champion for Beebe Medical Center, encouraging philanthropy and uniting the medical center with the communities it serves. He has increased donations from patients and their families along with support from private foundations, and has expanded outreach to donors who give bequests and other estate planning gifts.

His most notable accomplishment for Beebe Medical Foundation has been the Nursing Education Campaign, which he has planned, launched and managed, and which most recently earned the largest gift in the history of Beebe Medical Center - a $3 million donation from Ma-Ran Foundation, established by Peggy and Randall Rollins.

For more than a year, Sydnor worked closely with Wally Hudson, who recently retired as vice president of corporate affairs, to provide for a smooth transition of Beebe Medical Center’s strategic planning and marketing duties and responsibilities. Together, Hudson and Sydnor coordinated the development of a new, five-year strategic plan for Beebe Medical Center that will guide its efforts to serve its patients with accessible, high-quality healthcare.

“In his capacity as executive director of the Beebe Medical Foundation, Alex has strengthened our relationship with the communities that we serve,” said Jeffrey M. Fried, president and CEO of Beebe Medical Center. “He also has helped to lead our efforts to gain support for Beebe Medical Center from those who live and work in the South Coastal region, where we plan to build another outpatient campus. We are pleased that he has joined us as a member of the leadership team of Beebe Medical Center, and that he will continue to work to promote and to improve our organization as we move forward.”

Sydnor brought with him 22 years’ experience in fundraising and development management when he joined Beebe Medical Foundation. That experience included six years as director for development at Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Wilmington, where he was responsible for major individual gifts, corporate sponsorship, foundation grants, and membership. Before that, he served as executive director for development at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he helped raise the level of awareness and philanthropic support for the university’s teaching and research programs.

“Our focus at Beebe Medical Foundation is always on reaching the community that is served by Beebe Medical Center,” Sydnor said. “That is the same goal of the Marketing and Communications Department. I’m confident that our patients, supporters, and Beebe Medical Center will be served better by managing these outreach functions as one.”

Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities it serves. For more information, visit www.beebemed.org.