The Chapman Challenge
Former Clay Centerite Sets Challenge In Hospital Drive
Printed in the Clay Center Dispatch on March 30, 2006
By Marcia Newell
Mark Chapman’s name became familiar during my first week as Director of the Clay County Hospital Foundation. When we met, I asked if he would be willing to let me interview him about his continued interest in the community and particularly Clay County Medical Center. He was gracious enough to acquiesce and my hope is that this article will do justice to the boy who grew up here as well as the man he has become.
Mark Chapman was born and raised in Clay Center. He is the eldest son of Irene and Leo Chapman. He attended the local schools where he excelled in athletics. He still holds the shot put record from a regional track meet in 1961. After high school, he was awarded a scholarship to play football for Kansas State University. He graduated from K-State in 1965 with a dual bachelor’s degree in history and political science. While in college he was a member of Army ROTC, Acacia fraternity and participated in football, track and softball. Mark graduated from law school at the University of Texas in 1968 and spent two years in the Army, including one in Thailand. His first career path was spent in the real estate industry. In the late 1980’s Mark entered the oil business and is still active in that and the stock market. Mark currently resides in Cat Spring, Texas with his wife Cheryl, who worked as a neo natal nurse for Texas Children’s Hospital prior to her retirement. Mark has generously funded projects in this area and our hospital is fortunate enough to be one of the recipients of his generosity.
Mark was asked if he remembered being aware of the hospital during his childhood years. He’d played football and went out for track, so it seemed reasonable that he might have made some trips to the emergency room which would explain his charitable inclination toward the hospital. His answer was somewhat surprising. He did not remember any such visits. He had grown up hearing a story about his birth date of January 18, 1943 being on the coldest day anyone could remember for at least 10 years. It was 10-15 degrees below zero and so cold that his dad’s car wouldn’t start, so they gave him a room to stay in at the hospital. Mark was born in the building at 2121 7th Street that now houses the Clay County Museum. He knows he was born on the third floor in a room that had lots of windows. Although Mark didn’t use the emergency room, his father had need of the service in the 1970’s. Leo Chapman had a heart attack a few blocks away from the hospital. He drove himself to the ER and literally fell from his pickup truck outside the door of the emergency room. Treatment was successful as Leo Chapman, in his eighties, uses the Wellness Center now, rather than the Emergency Room.
Mark humorously shared with me that he wasn’t much of a philosopher at the age of nineteen when he went off to college. He was mostly focused on socializing and being involved in athletics. Given his focus during those high school years, he could not have anticipated that one day someone would be asking about his feelings in regard to charitable giving.
Curiosity still remained about what motivated Mark to make an initial gift of $100,000 to the hospital foundation. His donation provided the catalyst for the hospital board of trustees to begin discussions about expanding the Wellness & Fitness Center. Mark provided an honest and straightforward answer. “I don’t want to sound too noble, I simply believe that I need to try and leave this world a better place than it was when I got here. Bryant Anderson, former Director of the Hospital Foundation, was able to articulate the mission of the Hospital Foundation. He was a good facilitator in making me aware of the financial challenges faced in providing wellness opportunities in a rural community. He let me know what I could do to help.”
When Mark visits the area, he has regularly used the Wellness & Fitness Center. He chuckled when telling about his father’s use of the facility. The senior Mr. Chapman is an early riser and he faithfully exercises each morning at 5:00 a.m. Mark shared his admiration for his dad’s dedication to the program as well as the work ethic that continues to drive him.
When asked about his vision for the future of our medical campus as a former resident and someone who still cares about our community, Mark expressed his appreciation for the health services available to those who have remained in the area. “I know and care about people who have stayed in that hospital. It is a major player in the economic development of Clay Center as a sub-regional city. The availability and quality of healthcare is crucial, otherwise people from the surrounding areas will go elsewhere for their medical care. The people of Clay Center need access to a good hospital. Health should be a number one priority, but most of us take it for granted until we need help.”
Mark has been anxious to get the expansion project underway. He acknowledged his initial gift may have been the catalyst for the expansion of the wellness center, but he was more interested in what he could do to “jump start” the capital campaign. He made an offer to encourage the Clay County Hospital Foundation in its fund raising efforts. He challenged them with a gift of an additional $20,000 if they could find the money in the community to match that amount in donations. The Foundation Board began referring to his offer as the “Chapman Challenge”. The board made a decision to try to meet the challenge from within the board in order to show Mark and the community that they are personally dedicated to giving funds as well as asking for them. To date, the Clay County Hospital Foundation Board has pledged $41,600 in response to the Chapman Challenge.
Mark Chapman’s example of giving serves as a challenge to each and every one of us in this community. His passion for art led him to provide funds to renovate the existing art department gallery in Willard Hall on the campus at KSU. The Chapman gallery provides nearly 1400 square feet of actual exhibition space with nearly 400 square feet dedicated to exhibition preparation. Mark’s belief in education led him to provide ninety, on-going scholarships which last as long as the student continues his or her studies. Many of those have been given to graduates from Clay County. He has supported scholarships in fine arts, history and political science at K-State. His interest in history has led him to fund the Broughton Research Project at Kansas State University. In the same spirit of giving, Mark’s wife, Cheryl is the Founder and President of an organization known as PUPS (Prevent Unwanted Pets). Since November 1, 2003, they have spayed or neutered over 1300 animals. Currently they provide this service to over 100 per month animals per month. Cheryl also provides two nursing scholarships for the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.
The “Chapman Challenge” is not really about money. It’s a challenge for each of us, in our own way, to try to leave the world a better place than it was when we got here.