Antils Named Chairs of Moore Regional Hospital Auxiliary Ball

Dr. and Mrs. Michael Antil are the chairs for the 2012 FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital Auxiliary Ball. Proceeds from this year’s ball will benefit the development of FirstQuit for Teens, a tobacco-cessation program provided by FirstHealth Community Health Services.

PINEHURST – It doesn’t take long to realize that Michael and Lynn Antil are passionate about many things. They are especially passionate about health and health care.

Michael Antil, M.D., is an internist with Pinehurst Medical Clinic, and Lynn works as a health education specialist for FirstHealth Community Health Services, so it’s only natural that they care about health.

This year, the Antils will have the opportunity to share their passion about health on a different platform – by chairing the 2012 Moore Regional Hospital Auxiliary Ball. The proceeds from this year’s event, which will be held at The Carolina Hotel Ballroom on Dec. 7, will benefit the development of FirstQuit for Teens, a tobacco-cessation program provided by Community Health Services.

“We are excited that preventative services for young people of this community will soon get even better, thanks to the opportunity presented by the Auxiliary,” Dr. Antil says.

FirstHealth of the Carolinas has provided tobacco-cessation services for adults since 2001. With the success of the initial FirstQuit program, pediatricians, school counselors and even teens themselves began to request cessation resources for youth.

“Community Health Services, and in particular the FirstQuit staff, has dreamed of offering cessation services specifically tailored to teens,” Lynn says. “Thanks to the support of the Auxiliary, we will now be able to develop such a program.”

A 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey for North Carolina shows that one in four high school seniors have smoked cigarettes and one in nine has used smokeless tobacco in the past month.

“By improving the health of our youth, we are improving the health of our community for years to come and making an everlasting change,” Lynn says.

The topic is especially important to the Antils since they have young children.

“We hope they will never touch any tobacco product, but it is reassuring to know that there are options available to them if needed,” Lynn says.

The Antils met when both were attending Emory University in Atlanta. Michael was in his last year of medical school, and Lynn was in her first year of graduate school.

With a smile on her face, Lynn reminisces about the moment she met her husband.

“I was working on a project and had to interview a med student who was visiting from Texas,” she says. “That student was staying with Mike. I ended up only interviewing the student for five minutes or so, and then spent the rest of the night talking to my future husband.”

That was 2001. The couple married three years later.

Settled in Pinehurst since 2005, the Antils have three children: Olivia, their eldest at 5 ½; David, their 4-year-old son; and Caroline, who will turn 2 years old in January.

An active family, they enjoy spending their time together biking, walking and enjoying weekends in The Village, hiking the greenway trails or taking advantage of the amenities of Pinehurst Resort…when they can, of course.

“I like to tell people I golfed before I moved to Pinehurst,” Dr. Antil says, smiling. “That luxury does not come as often as it used to now.”

“We are blessed to be a part of this community,” says Lynn. “And we are honored to have been chosen as chairs, especially this year. It’s rewarding to see the proceeds from the ball support a cause that we personally feel is so important and necessary for our youth’s future.”

What: FirstHealth Moore Regional Auxiliary Ball
When: Friday, Dec. 7, 7 p.m.
Where: The Carolina Ballroom, Pinehurst
Why: Supporting the development of FirstQuit for Teens, a tobacco-cessation program targeted for the youth of Moore County
For ticket information, please call (910) 695-7510