Auxiliary honors top volunteer

Contributed Article

Ruth Powell was named the Volunteer of the Year by the Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center Auxiliary.

Powell is a charter member of the hospital auxiliary and has worn many hats, including secretary, first vice president, volunteer coordinator and president. So far, Powell has volunteered more than 10,000 hours and is still volunteering. She is presently serving as the chairman of the switchboard and Out-patient Clinic.

The auxiliary consists of 65 active members, 32 associate members and one lifetime member.

The group continues to help the hospital in many ways in its day-to-day operations.

Members serve at the information desk in the front lobby, run the gift shop, visit patients and hand out drinks and magazines, take baby photos, run the switchboard at night and perform many other tasks.

Hospital patients can readily identify auxiliary members by the green jackets they wear while working at the facility.

One of the most important things they do is provide much-needed equipment for the hospital. This is done with proceeds of the gift shop, baby photos, memorials, Christmas House, dues and donations.

The auxiliary has donated $16,647 for reclining chairs in the large infusion room in the new Cancer Center and $7,426 to the Obstetrics Department for two fetal monitors. In the past seven years, it has donated more than $202,000 in aid and has helped every department in the hospital.

The auxiliary's motto is "Give from the Heart," and the group is an integral part of the hospital team. Formally organized in 1977, the auxiliary's ultimate goal

is to meet the needs of patients and their families and the needs of the medical care community.

More volunteers are needed. Anyone who would like to join the auxiliary should contact Marrianne Rowley at 348-6613 or Homer Leacock at 428-2446.