Elizabeth Smart Guest Speaker for Pine Groves 35th Anniversary Celebration Feb. 19 on Hattiesburg Campus

Elizabeth Smart, one of America's most well-known child abduction survivors and a prominent advocate for national child safety legislation, will be the guest presenter for Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services' 35^th anniversary program Tuesday, Feb. 19, titled “Where There's Hope: Embracing the Future.”

This event, which features a luncheon, is set for 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the third flood ballrooms of the Thad Cochran Center on The University of Southern Mississippi's Hattiesburg campus. It will be presented by Pine Grove and the Forrest General Healthcare Foundation.  

Smart's abduction in 2002, one of the most infamous and followed child abduction cases in U.S. history, ended with her safe return by police to her family nine months later. Her ordeal and recovery from the traumatic event, which led to her work to promote child safety, is chronicled in her New York Times best-selling book My Story, which she will autograph following her presentation, along with her other book, Where There's Hope.

Admission is $100 for individuals, and tables seating up to 10 people may be reserved for $1,000. Proceeds from the event will benefit Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Spiritual Services' Spiritual Grounds Project.

For more information on this event contact Colleen Munkel, director of business development for Pine Grove, at cmunkel@forrestgeneral.com or call 601.266.4834. For more information about Pine Grove, visit https://www.pinegrovetreatment.com/. For information about the Forrest General Healthcare Foundation, visit www.FGHFoundation.com.