By Linda Kristofik, Photograph by Shannon Finley.
Andy and Betty McGhin moved to John Knox Village from St. Augustine in 1995. Andy retired from a 45-year career as a Certified Public Accountant and it wasn’t long after his arrival that Margaret James, the first chairman of the JKV Foundation, convinced him to join the Foundation Board and take on the responsibility of treasurer. In those days, the Foundation’s assets amounted to about $50,000 and the charitable work consisted of small acts of kindness. One such instance that Andy recalls is the purchase of a pair of soft shoes for a resident who was in pain.
As the year 2000 approached, Andy came up with an idea to run a campaign to raise money for the Foundation so that the vision of increasing benevolence assistance could be realized. The goal of the campaign was to raise $200,000 by New Year’s Day of 2000. For over two and one-half decades, Andy worked tirelessly to expand the Foundation so that it could become even more responsive to the needs of residents.
Today we are proud to have an Endowment Fund in excess of six million dollars, the earnings of which are solely used to provide financial assistance (benevolent care) to residents who have outlived their assets.
In January, Andy informed the Foundation’s leadership that he was planning to take a well-earned retirement from his volunteer duties. At the December 2019 meeting of the Residents’ Council and JKV Management, Andy was recognized and honored for his twenty-four years of dedicated service to the JKV Foundation.