Richard Willich

The staff of MDI receives a lighthouse flag as a thank you. From left to right: Matt Pierson, Gerry Maloney, Richard Willich, Ashley Costanza, Theo Wilder, Chris Doerr and Carmen Betoni

On Thursday, February 11, The St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum honored three Veterans for their unselfish service. The event was held at MDI. Richard Willich is an ongoing supporter of the organization.

View more photos from the event.

Richard standing Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube, Chairman of the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches on the left and St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar on the right.

On Tuesday, February 9, Richard Willich was honored at the Florida Sheriff’s Association’s Quarterly conference in Destin, Florida. Richard received a statue and plaque for his monetary donations and his donation of two Angus Cattle to the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch for use on its farm.

Presentation was held at the school Wednesday, February 10 at 2:15 p.m.

Photo Caption: Richard speaks with PV/PV Rawlings teachers after the unveiling of his $100,000 donation to the school for its technology initiative. Photo taken at the assembly on campus on Wednesday, February 10, 2010.

Richard Willich and MDI Holdings, the national healthcare technology company based in Ponte Vedra is donating $100,000 worth of teaching technology to Ponte Vedra Palm Valley/M. K. Rawlings Elementary School. The donation includes 37 interactive SMART Boardsä, 43 MDI computers, 30 new Apple computers, 18 classroom response systems, power strips, network switches, cables, software and labor. PVPV/Rawlings and MDI will mark the donation with a presentation on Wednesday, February 10 at 2:15 p.m. at the school.

“This investment fast forwards our opportunity to teach students growing up in a digital world, equipping us to simulate and measure learning while pacing our teaching methods in real time for more effective learning,” said Principal Kathleen Furness. “Currently, about 35 percent of the school’s classroom environments feature this SMART Board technology with interactive classroom response systems. Now it will be available to 100 percent of our classrooms. The impact of this technology will bring positive residuals for our students for many years to come.”

The donation is the largest private donation the school has ever received. In December, Richard Willich presented PVPV/Rawlings with $10,000 worth of orange trees and labor to support the school’s Healthy Initiative, which includes the promotion of diet, exercise and healthy habits.

“We are proud to support the efforts of our public school system, especially here in St. Johns County,” said Richard Willich, MDI CEO and active community philanthropist. “And we are pleased to offer our ongoing support to Ponte Vedra Palm Valley/M. K. Rawlings Elementary. Technology is what we do at MDI and it was a natural fit to fill this need at the school.”

In the last 10 years, Richard Willich and MDI have supported St. Johns County by making donations to Landrum Middle School, Pedro Menendez High School, Ponte Vedra High School and Nease High School. They also offer scholarships to teachers to study in Williamsburg, Virginia each summer.

MDI Holdings, based near Ponte Vedra, Florida owns three companies: MDI Healthcare Solutions, MDI Government Healthcare Solutions and United Teleplex. MDI’s mission is to market their advanced technologies to provide affordable healthcare information to reduce unnecessary costs.

Richard Willich, CEO of MDI, is a veteran, businessman, entrepreneur, cattle rancher and active community supporter. More information on Richard and his activities and philanthropy can be located at www.richardwillich.com or contact Maria Coppola at BroadBased Communications at 904-398-7279.

Richard Willich, a long-time supporter of Ponte Vedra Palm Valley Elementary School, spent an enjoyable hour reading to first graders on February 2. While he was offered his choice of books in advance, Richard put an extra special touch on the event by writing an original story for the children (with a little help from his friend Joey Travolta). The story, titled Davey & Goliath, is about a boy who befriends a young bull and the experiences they have together, including standing up to bullies! Davey & Goliath was inspired by Richard’s own Angus bull, Goliath. Each of the children also received a photo featuring “farmer Richard” and baby Goliath.

Photo Caption: General Ron Christmas, Richard Willich and General Walter Boomer pose in front of a photo taken by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. The famous photo depicts five Marines and one U.S. Navy Corpsman raising the American flag on the summit of Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima. Willich pays the Associated Press a yearly licensing fee to display this historic, original, photograph at the MDI Holdings headquarters in Ponte Vedra, Florida.

President of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, General G. R. (Ron) Christmas and Chairman of the Board, General Walter E. Boomer, visited Richard Willich (all USMC-Retired) at the MDI offices on Monday, January 18.

Fellow Vietnam Veterans, the three Marines have earned seventeen medals of valor between them including one Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, two Distinguished Service Medals, three Combat Action Medals, three Presidential Unit Citations, two Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medals w/V for Valor, and two Purple Hearts.

“Richard is a true patriot and a dedicated Marine. He has done a great deal to support our mission and I am here to personally thank him,” declared Boomer. The Foundation’s mission is to preserve the historic legacy of the U.S. Marine Corps and support the National Museum of the Marine Corps and Heritage Center at Quantico, Virginia, which opened on November 10, 2006 and has since had more than 1.6 million visitors.

“I’m honored to host two such distinguished guests and to be involved with plans going forward for the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation,” said Willich, who served for thirty years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and is now CEO of MDI Holdings, Inc., a Ponte Vedra-based healthcare management, technology and software company.

For more information on the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, please visit the site at www.marineheritage.org.

MDI Government Healthcare Solutions on Friday said it landed a $30 million contract with the Bureau of Land Management to provide health care analytics, patient scheduling and a nationwide network for medical examinations.

The contract was awarded for a period of five years to provide services to the U.S. Department of the Interior bureau.

The Ponte Vedra-based division of MDI Holdings in December added the Predictive Index, a data analytics tool to predict future medical costs for business, to its mix of health care risk management solutions including claims monitoring and customer provider network offerings.

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For the past five years, during the fall/winter harvest season, students and faculty at PVPV/Rawlings have enjoyed a delicious, healthy addition to their school lunches. The school’s orange grove, part of a unique Healthy Initiative, annually yields nearly 3,500 oranges. Now, thanks to the donation of thirty new orange trees by Ponte Vedra-based MDI Holdings, that yield of ripe, juicy golden fruit has more than doubled.

On December 14, in the peak of the orange grove’s harvest season, MDI employees and school staff planted the thirty adult fruit-bearing Satsuma Orange trees, and on December 17, Principal Kathleen Furness and three of her students delivered a bulging bag heavy with sweet, fresh Satsuma Oranges to Richard Willich, CEO of MDI Holdings.

“How do I know these came from the school orange grove?” Willich joked with Adam Snowden as scent of succulent oranges wafted through the air. “We picked them!” was Adam’s reply. Principal Furness then informed Willich that Adam is the school’s 2009 Spelling Bee Champion. “How do you spell Mississippi?” asked Willich, grinning broadly as Adam responded instantly with the correct answer.

Fifth grader and Safety Patrol Captain Mallory Suppa presented Willich with a letter of thanks from the students and faculty of PVPV/Rawlings, and 2^nd grader, Emma Merlini, gave him a basket containing a large frosted Santa Cookie … “Because you’re our special Santa, Mr. Willich,” she recited prettily. “Emma earned 125 reading points,” announced Furness. “She is Principal of the Day.”

Promptly taking Emma’s hand, Willich led her behind his desk, inviting her to sit in his chair and take charge of MDI during her visit. Beaming and looking quite confident, the young Principal of the Day settled comfortably into the big chair, very much like a queen surrounded by her court.

And, just as it seemed the visit could get no better, Tony Boselli [former offensive tackle with the Jacksonville Jaguars football team] entered the office, personally greeting each visitor and later posing with Emma and her court for a holiday photo.

From Left to Right:  Back row — Tony Boselli, Kathleen Furness and Richard Willich, Front row — Adam Snowden and Mallory Suppa, Seated — Emma Merlini

The donation of trees and labor, equating to about $10,000, is the first MDI donation to PVPV/Rawlings, although several other St. Johns County public schools and community organizations have benefitted from Willich’s generosity.

“We are glad to partner with PVPV Elementary in this Healthy Initiative,” said Willich. “Look at these wonderful children. Our future depends on their robust physical, mental and emotional health. I grew up in public schools and I’m grateful to be able to help kids in our local public schools and community.”

With a plethora of oranges available at no cost to students and faculty for school lunches, the additional yield from the new trees may give the school a new revenue stream in the future.

“Our students love these Satsuma Oranges,” said Furness.  “This is a holiday gift that will keep on giving for generations to come.”