At the 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee, seemingly countless organizations and ministries were represented in the exhibit halls, where attendees moved from booth to booth to rediscover the broad reach of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its mission. One of these organizations — rather, a tandem of organizations — was AdventHealth (a primary camporee sponsor) and NASCAR.

Youths and adults alike learned the many benefits and advantages of this unconventional yet effective partnership throughout the week. AdventHealth and NASCAR have cultivated fruits of business success since joining forces in 2014. Yet, it is their achievements in providing higher-quality care for patients and the greater community that matter most.

On August 9, 2024, the pairing demonstrated its commitment to goodwill by shining a well-deserved spotlight on first responders. Representatives from the law enforcement, firefighting, and medical sectors visited the camporee to receive this recognition, though their humble inclinations would have initially precluded them from doing so.

David Otatti, West Florida Division chief executive officer for AdventHealth, underscored some key aspects of their partnership with NASCAR. Ironically, both are highly visible in their respective fields yet immensely invisible otherwise. With the auto-racing giant, people know the driver but likely not the pit crew members, mechanics, statisticians, etc. With the hospital giant, people know the doctors and some nurses but likely not any of the other 95,000 employees the system comprises. Otatti’s fervent emphasis is “team, team, team,” and his all-encompassing purpose is to “extend the [compassion] of Christ to everybody who has come in contact with [AdventHealth].”

Garrett Caldwell, executive director of external communications for AdventHealth, reinforced Otatti’s sentiments. “When the communities who already love NASCAR see that there is an important connection between AdventHealth and NASCAR, that helps remind them that we're here in their good times as well as in their bad times,” Caldwell said, adding, “At the Daytona Speedway, when they’re [racing], we're in that arena with 125,000 people and the racecar drivers, and we're the official health care provider. We're operating ambulances and clinics, not just for the drivers when they crash — we do that, too — but for all the attendees. Any attendees who are there when the race is going on, if they get sick, they get free health care from AdventHealth.”

Caldwell also briefly detailed the catalyst for the day’s event. “I think the spark to make this connection of gratitude for our first responders came from Ron Whitehead.* He said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if the camporee and our sponsor together said, “Thank you” to our first responders?’ So, we were very happy to make that happen.”

Sheriff Scott Matheny was one of the honorees. His camporee connections supersede this day. “I was part of the planning stages from four years ago when [municipal officials] were trying to recruit [the camporee] to come here to Gillette … to be a part of our community. And since then, we've been involved with the camporee staff on a yearly basis,” he said.

Matheny endorses the team concept just like Otatti does. “I know that if I surround myself with good people, I don’t care who gets the credit. Let them do their jobs, then it'll be successful,” he said.

Building bridges of friendship between the church and the community is a camporee staple, whether done individually or corporately.

* Ron Whitehead is director of the Center for Youth Evangelism and executive director of the International Pathfinder Camporee.

The original article was published on the North American Division website.