Gary and John are Great Volunteers!
When retirees Gary Prater and John Smith picked up their guitars nine years ago to entertain visitors at Cabell Huntington Hospital, they had no idea they were about to raise thousands of dollars to benefit the Hoops Family Children’s Hospital.
“One of my things is to pay it forward,” said Prater, a Huntington High graduate who spent 39 years teaching school in Parkersburg before returning home in 2012. “I had a lot of mentors in my life who are no longer with us. That struck a chord with me. You can’t pay it back. You can only pay it forward.”
Playing at various times each week, the two perform across from the gift shop near the lobby. Offering a mixture of easy listening, gospel hymns and folk music, they donate their time and all their tips to the children’s hospital.
Over the years, that has amounted to more than $16,000. “One day recently I had over $60 in that container,” said Prater, a former track athlete who launched the cross-country program at Parkersburg High School. “It seems to me a lot of those who give tips don’t have a lot of money. That’s a wonderful commentary on the generosity of people.”
This informal music program got its start when Prater accompanied his wife, Mary Beth, to the volunteer director’s
office in 2014. After signing up to take snacks to cancer patients, the director asked Prater, “What do you do?”
Although he didn’t have any interest in traditional volunteer work, Mary Beth piped up, “He plays music.”
The director told Prater about a student who was completing her high school-related volunteer hours by playing the piano once a week. A few days later, Prater was next to the piano, playing his guitar.
“At some point a guy dropped a dollar on the table,” Prater said. “I said, ‘I’m not taking money.’ He said, ‘You’re doing a good thing. Keep it.’”
That paved the way for organizing an official fundraiser. Soon Prater had a partner after Smith struck up a conversation during a performance. The one-time insurance agent told Prater he too played music. For a while the two played together, but when vocal cord problems forced Prater to stop singing, they agreed to play separately.
Today, fiddle player Dennis Bills, Prater’s Appalachian music bandmate, stops in once a month to join Prater’s instrumental entertainment.
“Being in that lobby is something special,” Prater said. “It’s something I want to do as long as I can. Years ago somebody told me, ‘If you’ve got a gift, you’re obligated to use it.’”
