Flintridge La Cañada Guild Martha Denzel

Martha Denzel has been a member of Flintridge La Cañada Guild since 1996. The guild, which raises funds on behalf of Huntington Hospital through a popular annual horse show, “particularly appealed to me because I rode horses as a young girl,” she says. Having recently moved to this area from the East Coast, Martha says, “I also wanted to meet new people — and I thought it would be fun to combine horses and supporting the hospital.”

Over the years, Martha served as the chairperson responsible for acquiring all ribbons and trophies for horse show competition winners. Now a sustaining member of the guild, she is impressed by the show’s continued growth. “It incorporates more riders, and is even more successful,” she says.

Thoughtful volunteer.

As part of her guild involvement, Martha also began volunteering in our S. Robert and Denise Zeilstra Gift Shop. She has provided many hours of service in the store, and continues to participate today. She sees it as another natural fit: “I spent the first part of my career in retail,” she explains, adding that she worked as a department store buyer and merchandise manager, among other roles.

Martha is glad to support the hospital through her guild membership. “It’s a community hospital, and we all rely on it,” she says. “I want to help maintain the level of excellence that’s been established.” The guild has a long tradition of supporting our work, in areas throughout the hospital.

Protection and care.

In December 2019, the Flintridge La Cañada Guild committed remaining funds from their 2019 horse show toward two important aspects of our work: our new cardiac center and our K-9 Security Program.

Our cardiac center, currently under construction (see page 15 for more information), will help us speed time to care, accommodate advanced services and technologies, and meet the needs of more patients with cardiovascular illness each year. Funds designated in support of our K-9 Security Program will cover costs associated with the security dogs that help protect our campus, keeping patients, visitors and staff safe.

Recently, the Flintridge La Cañada Guild also showed their support of our staff on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guild generously donated a meal for night shift employees working in our emergency department, which was catered by the hospital’s food services team.

Due to COVID-19, the Flintridge La Cañada Guild made the difficult decision to cancel its 99th annual horse show, originally scheduled for Thursday, April 23, through Sunday, April 26, 2020, at the Flintridge Riding Club in La Cañada Flintridge. The guild looks forward to hosting future horse shows when it is again safe to do so.