October 8, 2019 | Issue 215
|
|
Financial Advisor Randy Garcia Adds Value to UNLV School of Medicine Community
|
|
The Investment Counsel Company CEO Randy Garcia.
|
|
|
The story of how UNLV School of Medicine student Arturo Montez and his family reacted when Randy Garcia visited their home -- he provided Arturo’s full medical school scholarship -- never gets old.
On hand were mariachi playing friends of the family and all of Arturo’s local relatives. His grandmother even came from Guadalajara. It was a celebration that the Montez family, and Garcia, will never forget.
“It was very moving,” said Garcia. “When Arturo’s mother hugged me, I almost cried. She would not let go. She was so happy that Arturo was going to medical school...I try to help at-risk youth dream bigger than they probably believe they can.”
Today, Garcia, a 1977 UNLV graduate and founder of The Investment Counsel Company, says he periodically meets Montez for lunch or just to talk.
“I thank him not only for the scholarship, but for his mentorship,” said Montez, a member of the 2017 inaugural class who says he plans to follow the lead of his mentor and reach out to help others. “I want to give back to this community, just as Mr. Garcia has.”
Garcia said that when he learned a new school of medicine could not only mean better health care to Southern Nevadans but also have a large impact on the economy, including 8,000 new jobs, he knew he had to be a supporter. One study showed that a medical school could have a $1.2 billion annual economic impact and add 8000 jobs to the economy by 2030.
“A medical school can be a game changer for improving the quality of life here in so many ways,” said Garcia, who has been recognized by Barron’s, a leading financial magazine, as the top independent financial advisor in Nevada and one of the top 1,200 financial advisors in the nation.
His work in the community is vast, including serving as a member of the Clark County School District Superintendent’s Budget Task Force. In addition, he’s a member of the Smith Center’s Board of Directors; a board director and education committee member of the Council for a Better Nevada; board member of the Las Vegas Area Council of the Boy Scouts; and a member of the Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce. “I want to do all I can to enhance the quality of life in Las Vegas,” Garcia said. “This community has been good to me.”
Garcia’s involvement with UNLV just keeps getting deeper and stronger. A member of the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees and chair of the Foundation Investment Committee, he’s helped local ophthalmologist Dr. Helga Pizio, a friend, in her quest to bring an academic department of ophthalmology to Las Vegas. “He facilitated introductions for me that were so important,” Dr. Pizio says.
|
|
|
A pianist who so appreciates classical music that he takes private piano lessons from the celebrated teacher Teresa Dybvig through Skype, Garcia is also a major benefactor of the Beethoven 250 Project, the brainchild of Mykola Suk, a world-renowned pianist and member of the UNLV School of Music faculty. A two-year series of concerts presented around Southern Nevada in cooperation with the UNLV College of Fine Arts and Southern Nevada Music, the project celebrates the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. The first performance at UNLV is Oct. 27 at 4 p.m. at the Doc Randall Recital Hall. Admission is complimentary, thanks to Garcia’s underwriting of the program.
“I just want the entire community to be able to hear great music,” Garcia said.
Garcia is also sponsoring a “Well-Balanced Pianist” workshop at UNLV tentatively planned for July, 2020. Founded by Dybvig, a Yale Music School graduate who has soloed at venues around the globe, the workshop -- bringing several days of intensive programs to pianists young and old -- is founded on the core values of musicianship, healthy piano technique, healthy mindset, bodywork and exercise, and piano pedagogy.
“If people learn to play correctly, there will be far less injuries,” said Garcia, who blames his own earlier injuries largely on technique problems. Dybvig says about 60 percent of pianists and string players suffer injuries largely because they’ve been incorrectly taught.
|
|
|
"A medical school can be a game changer for improving the quality of life here in so many ways." - Randy Garcia
|
|
Dr. Nancy Uscher, dean of the UNLV College of Fine Arts, says the fact that Garcia has a myriad of interests is a boon to the entire community.
“He likes to give a helping hand wherever the community needs it,” she said. “He tries to get us to work together. He’s so interested in bettering the community.”
Notes UNLV President Marta Meana: “Randy’s an incredible supporter of UNLV in so many ways. He’s very generous with both his treasure and time.”
Dr. Helga Pizio, who in 2008 founded New Eyes, an eye care practice that has quickly grown to six physicians and five locations throughout the Las Vegas Valley, says as soon as Garcia heard about her dreams of creating a world-class academic ophthalmology department and eye research institute in Las Vegas, he was supportive.
“He brought me and Dr. Barbara Atkinson (founding dean of the medical school) together,” she says. That introduction has led to further detailed discussions with former vice dean Dr. Ellen Cosgrove, associate dean for faculty affairs Dr. Mark Guadagnoli, and current medical school dean Dr. John Fildes.
|
|
|
 |
UNLV President Marta Meana
|
|
|
|
UNLV College of Fine Arts Dean Dr. Nancy Uscher
|
|
|
|
Dr. Guadagnoli has been particularly impressed with Dr. Pizio’s attention to detail as she explores what can make her dream a reality at the UNLV School of Medicine. Many people, he says, have an idea, but don’t create the kind of backing within the medical community and community at large that is needed to establish a new department. He stressed that her partnership with a consortium of ophthalmologists who back her idea, helps generate the kind of support needed to address the government, academic and regulatory hurdles that must be managed to expand the medical school’s curriculum.
“She’s going at it the right way,” Dr. Guadagnoli said. “There are many details that must be worked out. It’s a long road.”
Dr. Pizio is currently a member of the medical school’s community faculty, individuals who volunteer their time to help the school in aspects of education, research, community engagement or care of others. She is excited that UNLV School of Medicine students interested in ophthalmology now are beginning to rotate through her clinic.
“A UNLV student came to surgery and clinic with me today,” she said. “And now I’m setting him up with other ophthalmologists.”
A graduate of the University of Miami School of Medicine, she did her residency in ophthalmology at the University of Oklahoma, Dean McGee Eye Institute, a national leader in ophthalmology research and education
Dr. Pizio knows that she will continue to lean on Randy Garcia to help make her dream come true. “He has phenomenal relationships,” she said. “He’s such a mover and shaker in this city. He has personal connections that are priceless.”
|
|
|
|
|
"Former pianist studying to become doctor at UNLV's School of Medicine"
Interview with first year student Robert Sottile
|
|
|
|
|
"Las Vegas cardiologists discuss Bernie Sanders' heart condition"
Interview with Dr. Buddha Dawn
|
|
|
Missed a newsletter? All previous issues of Making the Rounds, are available on our
website
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
