By By MaryClaire Foster
In gratitude for their thousands of hours of service, Atmore Community Hospital hosted a a banquet honoring the hospital auxiliary Thursday evening.
Bill Perkins, hospital administrator, who on behalf of the hospital thanked the auxiliary for their service, led the event, held in Mayson Auditorium.
Perkins put it into literal figures how much work for the hospital the auxiliary has done in the past year, which totaled 4,584 volunteer hours, equal to $50,000 in salary if the volunteers worked for pay.
Members of the auxiliary not only run the hospital gift shop, but also man the hospital switchboard and work in the surgery waiting room. Besides these weekly tasks, the auxiliary also hosts fundraisers, which go towards supporting the hospital. This year the auxiliary has paid for the refurbishing of chairs in both the emergency room waiting room and the surgery waiting room along with donating funds for a new defibrillator for the hospital.
The auxiliary also sponsors a yearly scholarship for students planning to go into the medical field or already in it.
At the banquet, volunteers who had devoted 100 hours or more of their time were recognized with pins, with a different pin for every 100-hour increment.
Special recognition is also given to one member each year for being the volunteer of the year. This year’s volunteer of the year was Sarah Hall.
Hall was selected for the recognition by committee choice. Evelyn Turberville is the leader of the auxiliary and said Hall was very worthy of the award.
In accepting her certificate, Hall said,”This of course is for those of you that so faithfully day after day year after year.”
Hall also mentioned her gratitude to the paid staff of the hospital for supporting what the auxiliary does and working well with them.
Members of the auxiliary include, Dottie Albert, Linda Blake, Silverzee Brown, Luvernia Calloway, Annette Dawe, Althea Dyck, Donna Ferguson, Marlene Forrester, Mildred Hall, Sarah Hall, Hazel Higdon, Pat Hall, Helen Jones, Betty Lee, Frances Lovelace, Ellon Lowrey, Ruby Lowrey, Liz Myrick, Hazel Rolin, Gladys Stanton, Loyce Strawbridge, Emma Thomas, Evelyn Turberville, Ruth Vickery, Betty Ward, Jack Ward, Marvis Ward, Ann Weemes, Glenda Lowry, Doris Gentry, Lisa Ferguson and Priscilla Wilder.
See photos of the volunteers honored on page 10A or at atmorefocus.com