Mark and Alecia Bailey Honored With Community Service Award
By Mark Bailey, Jr.
Published March 13, 2014
Mark and Alecia Bailey received the 2014 Community Service Award from Caring Hands – Caring Community on Thursday.
Given since 1998, the award recognizes the extraordinary commitment of people who share themselves with community needs.
Christine Chapman, President of the All American Air Charitable Foundation, introduced Mark and Alecia before they received the award. “You are both equally deserving of this award simply because of who you are as people. You both always bring a smile and happiness to everyone you encounter on a daily basis.”
Past recipients of the award include Dr. William T. Abare and Susan Abare, Ray and Linda Matuza, and Randy and Paula Ringhaver.
Caring Hands – Caring Community is a charitable organization founded in 2004 to build awareness and support for the health care services provided through BayView Healthcare. Its purpose is to help those in need of services regardless of their ability to pay.
BayView Healthcare was founded in 1920 and provides a multi-level continuum of care, including short-term inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing, home health, assisted living, education on healthcare services, and wellness and prevention for aging individuals.
About Mark and Alecia Bailey
Mark, son of John and Peggy Bailey, Sr., is a graduate of the Bolles Schools and earned a BA in Economics and Business from Vanderbilt University in 1984.
At that time, he returned to St. Augustine to join the Thompson, Bailey, Baker Insurance Agency and later established The Bailey Group, providing insurance, benefits and financial strategies to companies and employees across the United States. The Bailey Group has become one of the largest, most progressive and respected benefits consulting/brokerage firms in the country.
Over the last thirty years, Mark has been actively involved in many community organizations. He has served as:
- a board member and current President of the St. Johns County Welfare Federation (28 years)
- current board member and past Chairman of the St. Augustine YMCA (20+ years)
- current board member and past Chairman Flagler Healthcare Foundation (11 years)
- current board member St. Augustine Foundation
- current trustee Flagler College
- current board member Florida First Coast YMCA Metro Board
- current board member Community Hospice of NE Florida
- past president St. Augustine Rotary Club
- past board president St. Johns County American Cancer Society
- past board member United Way of St. Johns County
- past president St. Augustine Life Underwriters
- 30 year member Million Dollar Round Table
- 15 year member MDRT Top of the Table.
He also served as Campaign Chairman for the $5 million capital campaign to build Community Hospice of NE Florida’s inpatient hospice care center, The Bailey Family Center for Caring, which has served 1,280 patients since opening its doors.
Alecia, daughter of Bill and Linda Young, is a graduate of St. Augustine High School and earned her BS in Finance from Florida State University in 1992. She and her husband, Keith Jones, whom she met at Florida State, married and moved to Orlando to begin their careers. Alecia rose through the ranks of Suntrust and left her position as Manager of Sales over Consumer Lending, Southern Region, to begin their family.
After returning to St. Augustine, Alecia became active in local schools, serving as a Key Communicator of St. Johns County Schools, serving on the SAC committee at RB Hunt and serving on Community Hospice of NE Florida’s Advisory Board.
Her passion, however, and the project she holds dear to her heart is raising funds for a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) – a disease that took Keith’s life in 2009. After his diagnosis, Keith developed a mission statement to keep him centered, focused and positive. He implemented “Project 2-4-20” with a goal of raising $2,042,020 for the fight again ALS and to live strong and well through February 4, 2020.
Alecia has continued to pursue Keith’s fundraising mission through Project 2-4-20 and, through her efforts, over $300,000 has been raised and donated to the ALS Research Center at Mayo Clinic-Jacksonville. These funds have already been instrumental in many monumental discoveries that provide other ALS patients with hope for the future. Alecia works tirelessly throughout the year to continue Keith’s mission and is intent on reaching the goal set by Project 2-4-20.
Mark and Alecia married on June 1, 2013, and blended their families which include: Mark, Jr., 27, his wife, Amy, 27, Brooks, 25, Cassidy, 20, Peyton, 15, Caroline, 14, and Mac, 10. The active, busy family enjoys working out, basketball, tennis, surfing and being together. Mark and Alecia are proud to be a part of such a giving and wonderful community and look forward to many more years working together and encouraging their children to serve those in need.
They are privileged and humbled by this award and wish to share it with all those who give of themselves for the betterment of our community.
Mark Bailey, Jr. is the Senior Marketing Manager of NFP's Atlantic region. Before joining the company, Mark was a production assistant on the tv show Glee and an on-air talent on 95.1 WAPE. He has over 10 years of experience in the insurance and corporate benefits space. Mark is an avid Jacksonville Jaguars fan and loves to spend his free time building custom mechanical keyboards.
