Meadows Health Auxiliary Holds Annual Banquet
The Auxiliary of Meadows Regional Medical Center of Vidalia, Georgia, was founded on November 7, 1968. At the inception of the Auxiliary, there were eight charter members with only one uniform to serve these eight eager women. Today the Auxiliary is made up of 94 men and women and four honorary members who serve as an officially recognized integral unit of Meadows Health. No one has to share a uniform, and the Auxilians are easily identified by their blue smocks and vests. Over the years, the Auxiliary has fulfilled its scope and mission as a voluntary arm of the hospital by donating various medical equipment and furnishings. In 2017, the Auxiliary completed a five-year pledge of $300,000 to the Tommy and Shirley Strickland Cancer Center. Most recently the Auxiliary donated funds for congestive heart failure scales for indigent patients, donated turbans and snacks for the Cancer Center, and provided meals to hospital personnel during the Covid- 19 pandemic.
The organization also donated $50,000 towards the new 3-D mammography machine with a pledge of an additional $50,000. The Gift Shop has been the primary source of income for the organization, and through the years other fund raisers have been used, most notable the annual pecan raffle and vendor shows. We wish to thank the hospital employees and the general public for your support of our fund raising efforts.
Volunteers were unable to hold their annual banquet in May due to pandemic regulations. This banquet was finally held on December 7 at the Vidalia Onion Inn. CDC guidelines for gatherings were enforced. The meal was catered by Shoney's, and entertainment was provided by Matthew Kersey, new chorus director at Toombs County Middle School. Southeast District Directors for the Council on Volunteer Services, Sharon Bowen and Donna Doersch, were in attendance. Service pins earned by the volunteers were awarded at this time. Pins are awarded for 100, 500, 1,000 hours and per each 1,000 hours service thereafter. From March 2019 through February 2020, volunteers worked 22,161.25 hours. This gift of time to the hospital amounted to $160,669.06. Volunteers have been unable to return to the hospital since March due to the pandemic; however, we have started back with our vendor shows on the outside grounds of the hospital. Be on the lookout for opportunities to shop and find some great deals at these shows.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Auxiliary and giving the gift of your time to a worthy organization, you may contact Judy Gibbs at Human Resources. She can be reached by email at igibbs@meadowsregional. org or by calling (912)537-5801 Ext. 4.
100 HOURS — Maureen Reynolds, Judy Hendrix. Not pictured: Jodie Hutcheson, Ann Owens, Lydia Patterson, Hilda Self.
1,000 HOURS — Diane Quinn, Jody Phillips, Dean McDonald, iris Gillis, Marlene Wonn. Not pictured: John Harrell, Randy Ott.
500 HOURS — Diane Nobles, Kay Wheeler, Katherine McLendon, Linda Hutcheson, Dan Brown, Bertha Bearden. Not pictured: Nancy Clements, John McLeod, Sally Nicholson, Nan Taylor.
7,000 HOURS — Shelby Palmer. Not pictured: Ellen Brown.
Meadows Health Auxiliary President Lisa Parker and District Directors Sharon Bowen and Donna Doersch.
4,000 HOURS — Beth Lewis, Martha Rivers.
