Community leaders Tom and Ginny Knoll ...
Go all out for Summa Health
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Promise magazine.
When Tom and Ginny Knoll support a good cause, they go all out from the get-go. Their style was in full play at the 2018 Sapphire Ball, which raised more than $1 million for Summa Health Cardiovascular Services and other clinical programs.
Honorary chairs of the 17th annual gala and a Diamond Sponsor, Tom and Ginny helped plan every detail and came to the gala in full medieval costume in keeping with the Venetian masquerade theme.
In further testimony to their “all out” style, the Knolls made a second generous gift in 2018 to help Summa Health enhance the patient experience and empower clinical excellence, goals of the comprehensive campaign for Summa Health, “Caring for You … Then, Now, Always.” Tom Knoll also supports those goals through his leadership on the Campaign Executive Committee.
The Knolls moved to Ohio in 1965 for Tom’s first job as an attorney after he graduated from The Ohio State University School of Law. True to form, Tom, a Michigan native, took the initiative in getting to know his new community. He reached out, identified community needs and helped fill them. His involvement led to the establishment of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina and Stark Counties and First Tee of Greater Akron. For these and other achievements, Tom was honored with two of the community’s most prestigious awards, the H. Peter Burg Economic Development Leadership Award for his civic conscience and the Bert Polsky Award for his dedication to humanitarian causes in Akron.
Ginny, an Illinois native, is past president of the Junior League of Akron and former board chair of the Mental Health Association of Summit County. She is a former board member at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens and at Mobile Meals, and is a former member of the Junior Board of Akron City Hospital.
The Knolls’ involvement and support span more than three decades at Summa Health. In addition to their recent generosity, they have supported nursing education, medical research, palliative care, capital campaigns for cancer and critical care, and now, the “Caring for You” campaign.
Co-founder and principal of the Stark and Knoll law firm, Tom is a former chair of the Summa Health board of trustees and the Summa Health Foundation board, and is founding chair of the Summa Health Golf Outing steering committee.
The Knolls’ generous campaign gift will be recognized in the new patient tower on the Summa Health System — Akron Campus.
For more information about donating to Summa Health, contact Shelley Green, system director of development, 330.375.6891 or greensh@summahealth.org.