
Amanda Blanton
The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, along with almost 300 regional business leaders and guests, celebrated the accomplishments of Hudson Headwaters Health Network founder Dr. John Rugge on March 10 at the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing.
At the dinner, Rugge was presented with the J. Walter Juckett Award.
ARCC has honored a community member with the award at its annual dinner event for the past 34 years.
Juckett was an active participant in many community organizations, including the Mohican Council of the Boy Scouts, the Lake Champlain Cancer Research Organization, the Adirondack Samaritan Counseling Center, First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, the Salvation Army, and ARCC.
After his passing in 1988, the Chamber’s board of directors created the prestigious J. Walter Juckett Community Service Award. Each year, the award is bestowed upon a deserving honoree, who demonstrates a fierce commitment and hands-on dedication to the betterment of our community.
“Dr. Rugge had a vision to bring accessible health care to all parts of our region, and with much hard work and determination, he made that a reality,” said ARCC President and CEO Tricia Rogers. “He is an inspiration to us all and we were thrilled to honor him with the J. Walter Juckett Award.”
Rugge was a family physician who came to the Adirondacks to finish writing a canoe book in 1974. He accepted a position with the Glens Falls Hospital to serve as supervising physician at a brand-new health center in Chestertown with the intention of practicing for six months before returning to Albany Medical Center.
As it turned out, all the surrounding communities were losing their general practitioners to retirement, and Rugge found it impossible to depart with no one to take his place. Instead, he combined medical practice with community engagement and grant writing to establish the Hudson Headwaters Health Network, which has grown to include 21 health centers between Saratoga County to the Canadian border with some 200 medical providers and more than 150,000 patients.
The award was presented to Dr. Rugge by Tom Murphy, president and CEO of Arrow Financial Corp., and Dr. Kristin Mack of Hudson Headwaters Health Network.
To see a list of past honorees, visit www.adirondackchamber.org/j.-walter-juckett-community-service-award.
Founded in 1914, the ARCC is a 100 percent membership funded organization representing businesses in Washington, Warren, Essex and Northern Saratoga counties.