Ticket sales for Mizell’s annual Foundation Gala are expected to generate an estimated $30,000 in proceeds for the hospital’s Wellness Center, Ted Roquemore, Mizell Memorial Hospital Foundation board president, said Thursday.

There are 300 tickets available for the Thurs., Aug. 12, event, which will be held at Opp’s First Baptist Church fellowship hall, Roquemore said. Cost is $50 each and includes a prime rib dinner with “all the fixin’s” and entertainment, he said. Since the foundation is a non-profit organization, 40 percent of the ticket price is tax deductible.

Aaron Wilburn is this year’s featured entertainment. A feature on the Gaither Homecoming tour and videos, his unique sense of down-home humor – “without the use of four-letter words” is sure to bring down the house, Roquemore said.

“This guy is fantastic,” he said. “You won’t be disappointed. He’s a humorist. He does some singing, but it’s funny singing, not serious gospel singing.

“This is ‘the’ event for Opp, and we want to encourage everyone to dress appropriately – suit and tie for men and Sunday dress for the ladies.”

Dinner music will be provided by Opp’s nationally renowned dual pianists, the Rainer Twins, beginning at 7 p.m., followed by entertainment at 8 p.m.

This will be the sixth year all proceeds from event ticket sales, minus expenses, are designated to cover operational costs for the Wellness Center, he said.

“The purpose of the Foundation, which was formed about seven years ago, is to assist the hospital in any way we can to help provide excellent medical care for our community,” he said. “In the past, that has meant purchasing specialized equipment for doctors’ offices and providing nursing scholarships for area high school students, but for the last five years, and for the next several years, all the money we raise will go toward the wellness center.”

Roquemore said at the beginning of the project, foundation funds were used to cover the expenses incurred “in getting it off the ground.”

“Now that (the center) is open, all our proceeds will go to day-to-day operations,” he said. “The hospital has to cover a $2 million note, so we do what we can to make sure the hospital has money to make its loan payment.”

He said table reservations for groups of six or 10 are encouraged, and requests must be made by the end of July.

Tickets are available at Mizell Memorial Hospital, CCB Community Bank, Opp Chamber of Commerce and Southern Independent Bank.

For more information, call 493-3541.