By Doris Gardenhire/Special to HCN
We would like to thank once again those of you who continue to bring us books to sell for the Nursing Scholarship Fund. I noticed more Louis L’Amour books, thank you very much, you know who you are! These sales do help us continue to provide scholarship/loans to aspiring nurses. As you probably know, we do give full scholarships—tuition, fees, and books—rather than the $500 that some auxiliaries do. We have one student now who is at UT Tyler, where you can imagine the cost is quite a bit more than $500! That is why we are always raising money. As you also know, the nurses agree to work for ETMC Athens for three years after receiving their certification. The Auxiliary does feel that it is helping ETMC Athens keep supplied with good, well-trained nurses. Thank you for making that happen.
Speaking of books, thanks also go to all who came out for the Books Are Fun sale. One of the very best customers was Suzanne Tower, who is in charge of one of the Retired Teachers’ (School Personnel) projects. This group every year provides three books to each and every teacher of Pre-K, first, and second grades in Henderson County. That includes 11 schools, plus each principal gets a book. The Retired School Personnel of Henderson County accepts donations of money and/or new books, so if you want to contribute, contact Suzanne Tower at 903-316-7545. And if you wish to join this active group, they meet on the second Wednesday at 2:00 at the Methodist church. In September and May they meet at noon for potluck dinner.
Patty Curtis is in charge of membership.
Minna Jane Odom was guest speaker at this month’s general meeting. She is very active in First Baptist Church’s Children’s Clothing Ministry, and she explained how that program works. Situated in the “Green House” at 403 East College, it is open every Thursday from 3:00-5:00 p.m. to provide clothing, including underwear and socks, to children birth to 18 years. However, before school starts in the fall, they have a give-away of school uniforms to all students Pre-K through grade 12. A receptacle is placed behind the Green House for donations of good used clothing or uniforms. Volunteers keep track of recipients, who are allowed to get clothes only once every three months. Last year 600 children were served in August. Their costs are about $18,000 a year, funded by the church budget, grants, and donations. Although their records are kept independently, the group cooperates with the HC Help Center, Child Protective Services, AISD, and other local organizations.
We are glad to have Terry Sory return to the auxiliary, especially since she agreed to assume the secretary’s job.
Several people have asked about women volunteers in different colored uniforms. If you are a consistent reader of this column (bless your heart), you know, but in case you missed it, females now have a choice between the traditional pink outfits and the new teal and khaki set. When the men went to teal shirts (if they wanted to), the women liked them so much they wanted the same thing. So the auxiliary voted to allow women to choose which color they want. There is no other designation or symbolism of each color.
We have such a wonderful group of volunteers, I would like to give you just a little information about some of them over the next few columns. Several are retired school teachers, from kindergarten to college, such as Pat Rogers (22 years), Betty White, Jan Richardson, and yours truly. More will come later! C.W. and Mary Bess were missionaries in Germany for several years; Connie Masterson was Miss California a while back; Ruth Lang was Executive Secretary for the Vice President of Finance at Lockheed Aircraft for 28 years; Bill Turner was in charge of World Wide Sales Operations for Convex Computer Corporation—Vice President of Manufacturing Operations for Doc-U-Tel, an 800-member organization. ; Margie McDaniel spent 41 years in banking; Jim Alexander is known for his acting in local theater productions and has acted ever since college. See what a varied group we have? You’re welcome to come join us. Oh, yes, Judy Wilfong’s daughter is the national champion shotgun shooter!
So you can see that being retired doesn’t mean your life is over! You can still be useful!