you need to reach your goal. The A C H A board is working this year to iden-tify ways we can assist our auxiliary leaders. If you have questions, comments or suggestions on how we can help please pass those along to the board. You can contact your district chair-man or vice chairman or contact myself, Alice Hinger or Sharon Farst. The board would like to begin by devel-oping a “Best Practices” list for new presidents that would help them to conduct a successful auxiliary meet-ing. Your input will be very much appreciated. If you choose to take my challenge I would love to hear about your journey to being a better leader. Your experience might just be what moti-vates someone else to take that first step on the road to being an auxiliary leader. Please send me your story so I can share it with others.

With a little luck spring is on the way. Spring reminds us of new begin-nings and for many of our member auxiliaries spring also brings the election of new officers. If you are a member in one of those groups you might have been giving some thought to the qualities to look for in a leader. Leadership is the focus this year for the ACHA board. In our Janu-ary meeting the board mem-bers discussed the traits that should be present in a good leader. Here are a few that were mentioned:

Be a good listener. Be organized. Be dependable. Be patient. Be flexible. Be ready to take a

risk.

These are just a sample of many values I am sure you can think of, but for right now I will ask you to con-centrate on these six items. My challenge to you is this; “look at the six traits above and pick out four that you feel fit YOU”. These are the qualities that you recog-nize within yourself, that give you self confidence and that you would say help to make you a good leader.

Now, please look at the two you DID NOT select. These are areas where you don’t feel so confident, areas where you are a bit lacking and know that these might hinder you from being as effective a leader as you would like to be. Having identified these two areas, I give you this challenge. For the next 6 to 8 weeks make it your personal goal to work on these two items and to im-prove. If you are not organ-ized then start now to look for ways to change, to de-velop habits that will make you a better organized per-son. If you are not a good listener look for opportuni-ties to practice really paying attention to what others are saying. Whatever area you are working on you will find situations where you can apply extra attention and really build up your skill. It takes some soul searching as well as determination and self discipline but at the end of the challenge you will be more confident and better prepared to step forward and take a position of lead-ership if you are asked. No one is born a leader. Effective leaders come from a deep personal desire to serve. Once that desire is expressed that indi-vidual needs to be men-tored, educated and encour-aged. If you have that call-ing seek out the resources

Billie Simpson, ACHA Chairman

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Vice-Chairman Historian

2

Gift Shop Communicator

3

District I 5

District II 6

District III 9

District IV 12

Contact your Board Members

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A L A B A M A C O U N C I L O F

H O S P I T A L A U X I L I A R I E S The Communicator A P R I L , 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E 2 4 I S S U E 2

S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N T E R E S T :

• ACHA Fall Confer-ence at Lake Gun-tersville State Park Lodge, October 21-24, 2012

• 2012 ACHA State Chairman promotes “Leadership for 2012”. Her challenge to all Auxiliaries is encourage leaders within the local aux-iliary. Then support them to aid in their development on the path to becoming future leaders state-wide for ACHA.

P A G E 2

Alice Hinger, ACHA

Chair-Elect

“Making and Preserving The History of ACHA”

My travels have taken me to three district meetings this year: Dis-trict II’s meeting at Northport Medical Cen-ter in November, District II’s meeting at Princeton Baptist Medical Center on February 1, and Dis-trict IV’s meeting at In-firmary West, Mobile, on February 15. All of these meetings were well at-tended and the presidents gave good reports. It is so good to hear all the activities taking place in your hospitals, and it is amazing the many ways the auxiliaries have found to support our Dementia/Alzheimer’s state project. Remember, we will be selecting a new project for next year so

give your suggestions to your district chairman. I regret being unable to attend District III’s meeting at Greene Hospital on March 1, but I am very proud of this new auxiliary getting right to work and hosting a meeting during just their second year as a member of ACHA. Way To Go! I am proud of you. March arrived as a Lion and I hope our auxilians, their families and friends es-caped the tornado damage which has again occurred in our state. My thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected. R E M E M B E R t o count your blessings and as you serve your hospital be thankful you are able to do it! Alice

place in the appropri-ate Districts’ page. Have you sent in your latest news for docu-mentation? Spring is almost here and we are looking forward to new ideas, scholarships and spring luncheons and of course, more fund

Time seems to be flying by and we are all so busy. Auxiliaries around the state have special projects and fund raisers and have sent pictures and arti-cles for the State year-book. It is so interest-ing to review these and

raisers and projects. Thank you for your dili-gence and keep those items coming. Your auxiliary is very impor-tant and we want to hear form you. Thanks again. Betty

Betty Baxley, ACHA State

Historian

T H E C O M M U N I C A T O R

Can You Believe? February with its Leap Year finish is over. It is difficult to say spring is on its way be-cause in my part of the state trees are budding and flowers are blooming. We believe spring has already arrived. The azaleas and dogwoods are beautiful. We had our first ACHA board meeting on January 18, 2012. Board orientation compared the good work done by the members of last year’s board to an unbreakable chain, and each board member was urged to keep up the good work this year and not allow any weak links to appear in the chain. Billie announced “Leadership” as our goal this year. We will focus on ways our board can support our auxilia-ries in recognizing, developing, and men-toring new leaders. As you attend your district meetings, you will hear more about creating a “best practices list.” We hope you will suggest some of your successful leadership ideas for placement on this list for others to use.

This is a RED ALERT !!!!!!! We had such great participation at the 2011 ACHA Fall Conference in the Yearbook, Newsletter, Special Projects and Tray Favors competition, that I want to encourage

you to be sure to keep your photos and information up-to-date. That way your aux-iliary will be ready for final editing so you can submit them at this year’s conference to be held in Guntersville in October. Those of you who received 2nd & 3rd place

awards last year are in a good position to get those 1st place ribbons this year.

Here we are into a new year and the first quarter of the ACHA year. Now, I am looking at spring items following the Mardi Gras scene here in Mobile. What’s hot for spring? Is it St. Pat-rick’s Day items, bunnies, eggs, flowery scarves, more collegiate items? I want to hear from you. Let me pass on what’s going on in your Gift Shop. I am not able to travel all over the State; e-mail me at brandci@bellsouth.net, call me at (251) 456-5951 or mail your hot stuff to: 2155 N. Downing Street, Mobile AL 36617-.3050 I promise I’ll respond. Constance Taylor, Gift Shop Chairman

Gift

Shop

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state. In the last issue of the Communi-cator, I had some computer problems which caused me some agony in that I lost a couple of photos and articles. I apologize, and hope that doesn’t happen again. Please let me know if I miss something. Stay in touch.

It has been great reading your news-letters and working

with some of you to start newsletters for your auxiliaries. Over the past few months, it has been our privilege to get to know more about the auxiliaries across the

Don & Sarajane Pugh 762 Cambridge Lane Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 (205) 462-3374 Email:ezzzlife@peoplepc.com

The Communicator Don & Sarajane Pugh ACHA Communicator

Co-Editors

Thank God for Volunteers! By Marilyn R. Beverly

There is a person who cares about your needs. They walk through the door and a smile is what you see.

They are a ray of sunshine on a gloomy day. An anchor of hope in the storm.

They are a Volunteer.

There is a person who gives and expects nothing in return. You feel the love from their heart. You feel the healing in their touch.

And see the light of hope in their eyes. Thank God for Volunteers.

They are there in the beginning of life. And walk with you down each path.

And at the end of the road, they hold your hand all the way. Thank God for Volunteers.

I am a Volunteer. My life has been enriched by all that I’ve given.

The returns have been ten-fold. Will you take my hand, join and become a volunteer?

On this journey we call life, There are lonely faces, faces with names,

Faces with hearts that need someone to care, Won’t you volunteer?

Thank God for Volunteers. Where would our world, our country, your state, my state

Your community and my community, your hospital, And my hospital be without volunteers?

Thank God for Volunteers. Thank God for Volunteers!!

Thank you all for making a

difference in our world!

Happy Volunteer Week to all!!

National Volunteer Week, April 15-21, 2012!

This poem is a reprint from Marilyn R. Beverly’s Newsletter.

Our fall conference is coming soon. I am really excited! When I share some things with you, I think you will be too! We are going to have a wonderful action packed conference this year! Our Theme is: “Volunteers Truly Make a Difference!” I believe this speaks to every volunteer’s heart. I have stated before,

I believe volunteers live every day to make a difference in someone’s life! These are just some of the conference events and speakers: * A Costume Party Sunday evening, with you as the judge. Every-one wears a costume; but absolutely nothing scary! Best costume wins a cash prize! For $1 per vote, you cast votes for who you think has the best costume. Anyone can win. There is no limit on how many times you can vote. ACHA and winners will split the pot. * Instead of Bingo, we will have a Chinese Auction. This is a progressive auction. * We will have Game Night, where you will choose which game(s) you play.

* We will have a whole lot of entertainment this year. These are just some of them:

Singer/Songwriter: Ronnie Forbus on acoustical guitar. Local Fire Fighter Quartet performing familiar songs. Also we are trying to confirm a beautiful duet couple.

I am awaiting confirmation on our Keynote Speaker; but I can tell you they are a truly gifted moti-vational speaker and worth the wait. Jim Zeigler of Zeigler Eldercare will present a session on Eldercare. This is a topic that we all need help planning for. Walter Jacobson of Creative Solutions will present a workshop on “Motivating through Influence”; and will also host a fun “Team Building” seminar. We have changed things up a bit. We will have breakout sessions; but we are adding seminars and workshops. This year’s conference will be action packed! Our Vendor Reception will be Monday night with great prizes. Hey, be on the lookout for some new vendors; we would love to make room for more. If you know someone that might be interested in being a vendor for us, have them con-tact Teresa Stubblefield at tstubblefield@alaha.org. Last year, we had the largest quantity and best quality of items for our conference bags. Let’s do it again! If your hospital would like to contribute toward them, plan on 225 items. Items do not have to be identical. We just want to make sure that everyone receives

some special gifts. For preparation purposes, I need to know who will be contributing and what will be included in our bags well in advance Every Auxiliary will need to bring two gifts worth a minimum of $25 value. For our Auction and Door Prizes. Clearly mark both items with the donating auxiliary’s name on an easily removable affixed note. Prepare your Yearbook, Newsletters, Tray Favors and Special Program entries to bring with you. There is more to come. Look for another update in June. In the meantime, call me if I can be of as-sistance at (256) 245-8585 or (256) 404-6481 or by email at: debijag@bellsouth.net. I hope to visit your District meetings; and I am really looking forward to seeing everyone in October.

Debi Jacobson, Fall Program Chairman

P A G E 4

Sharon Farst, ACHA Past Chair-man encourages everyone to “check out the ACHA webpage!”

T H E C O M M U N I C A T O R

Don’t forget to check us out on the Web To access the ACHA page: Type www.alaha.org in your browser window.

Click onto “Affiliates,” then Scroll down to select “Auxiliaries, Alabama Council of Hospitals.”

Here you will find: How to become affiliated with the organization Complete issues of the Communicator, available to read or print. Contact address for questions or comments ACHA calendar of events Information on the State Project Rules and requirements for entering the yearbook, newsletter, tray favor and special program competition Please share this with you Auxiliary members so that they can take advantage of this web site. Sharon Farst, Immediate Past ACHA Chairman

Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge

ACHA Fall Conference October 21-24, 2012

Only come if you can stand a little bit of this view… It may be habit forming!

District I P A G E 5 V O L U M E 2 4 I S S U E 2

. “C - I - P” is the Theme for 2012

CULTIVATE for growth of our Organization.

INSPIRE commitment and be committed.

PREPARE our members to become leaders & dedicated volunteers. Jane Barcomb, President of the Helen Keller Auxiliary praised the auxiliary for the wonderful “Get Acquainted Tea” held recently. It was a wonderful event seeing so many attendees, with everyone having an opportunity to meet the auxiliary board members, NEW volunteers and those with long years of service. It was a fine time to learn faces, names and where each worked. Jane also offered special thanks to Amy Bishop, volunteer manager and to Pam Bryant, DVS for their support. Pam will be leaving Helen Keller after over 33 years of service. She will be retiring in May and is looking forward to doing things around the house for a change.

“LOOK GOOD - FEEL BETTER PROGRAM” For many years the Helen Keller Hospital volunteers have joined hands with the American Cancer Society to work with the Look Good Feel Better Program. They currently meet at the wellcare center the third Monday of each month from 1 - 3 p.m.

Women who are in treatment for cancer or who have had can-cer may attend the sessions. If you know of anyone who would like to attend, have them call the American Cancer Society in Florence.

Mary Jarman, HKH volunteer works alongside Dianne Peeples, the American Cancer Society Health Representative to provide wonderful programs.

Each attendee receives a lovely tote bag filled with makeup. The tote bags are donated by makeup manufacturers. Besides Mary and Dianne, there are volunteer hairstylists and volunteer makeup artists who demonstrate on an attendee (model), the proper appli-cation of the makeup. They receive a free wig that is suited to them and styled especially for them.

Mary prepares and serves the group a deli-cious food treat and they all share in good food and good conversation.

Mary also works the information desk each Tuesday morning. Thank you Mary for your love of others in this especially wonderful community outreach.

Doris Gallaher, Edi-tor of The Volunteer Voice

Helen Keller Hospital Highlands Medical Center Auxiliary

Highlands Medical Center had a busy Decem-ber. We joined the Hospital Foundation in the Lights of Love Ceremony. We hosted the refreshments table where cookies and cocoa were available. We also donated $110.00 in honor of our deceased and in-active volunteer members. We hosted a nursing home party and presented them a check for $200.00 toward their Angel Tree. Our December babies went home in a Christmas Cap. We visited the 4th & 5th floor every weekday with a snack cart which included color books & crayons for the children. The Lab asked us to purchase some stuffed ani-mals for them to give to small children when blood is drawn. In January we were asked to purchase some new equipment for the nursing home which cost $11,000.00. The request was approved and has been the equipment has been ordered. We ordered new furniture for the Consoling Room and will be giving the room some TLC in March when it arrives. We will have a Masquerade Sale in March. Sue Obenchain, President

Mable Brooks, Joyce Purple and Nelta Benson trav-eled with the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Asso-

ciation to Montgomery on February 16 to meet with local legislators for the First Annual Alabama Day on the Hill. The theme for the day was, “The Purple Wave is Coming.” The purpose of the trip was to encourage our representatives to sup-port the Alabama Alzheimer’s State Plan Taskforce. The legislature passed HB384/SB499 in 2010 to create such a taskforce, but the timeframe to implement the bill expired. The bill will once again be placed on the floor and it is our hope that the legislators will pass a bill to create a new taskforce to access the impact of this disease on the residents of Alabama. Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S. We hope the efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association, our hospital Auxiliaries across the state and those of other Alabama constituents, will change the future of this devastating disease.

Nelta Benson had the honor of pinning Governor Bent-ley with a purple ribbon while attending the event.

Huntsville Hospital

P A G E 6

DCH Regional Medical Center

DCH Northport Medical Center

District II

Northport Medical Center Auxiliary would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!! NMC volunteers handed out around 100 tray favors in November and also in December. One of the volunteers was assisted by two of the Boy Scouts from Pack 85 at Rock Quarry School.

NMC will be giving out red & pink roses for Valentine’s Day to our patients as tray favors.

We will host nine (9) fund raisers this year. Our first will be Adler’s Gem & Jewelry Sale in January. Everyone seems ex-cited about the event.

DCH and NMC were invited to a luncheon/meeting on Feb. 21st. It was a Mardi Gras “Fat Tuesday” theme. As you can see from the photo, we had FUN!!! Patsy Nowell, President

During the fourth quarter, we added four new adult volunteers to our auxiliary bringing our total to 319 active volunteers. We had 59 junior volunteers for the summer. The total volunteer hours for the quarter was 15,859. Over 300 Auxiliary mem-bers attended our Christmas Holi-day Banquet held at the Capstone Hotel in December. The Auxiliary members decorated two trees out-side our gift shop which resulted in the sale of most of the ornaments on the trees. They also decorated other areas of the hospital with trees and wreaths. Several volunteers attended the ACHA Fall Conference in Birmingham and the District II President’s Council in Northport. Our Auxiliary will have five attendees at the Spring SDVSHO Annual Conference in April in Myrtle Beach, SC. Sandra Simpson, President

.

T H E C O M M U N I C A T O R

District II Meeting - HUGE SUCCESS!!!!! Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham was the host for the February 1st meeting of the President’s Council for District II. Attendance was great [even with the rainy day] with 28 attendees from hospitals across the state. Jane Pearson, President of Princeton’s auxiliary welcomed us along with Eunice Stagner, District II Vice Chair. Our Chairman, Ann Willard was unable to attend, since she was “Cruising the Hawaiian Islands”, but as they say “Somebody’s gotta do it!”. We were honored to have representatives from all 4 Districts in attendance - Billie Simpson, ACHA Chair; Tom Guyton, Dist. I Chair; Beverly Com-mander, Dist. III V-Chair; and Alice Hinger, ACHA Chair-Elect from Dist. IV. Also, Don & Sarajane Pugh, Co-Editors of the Communicator were here. Remarks were made by Billie

Simpson and Alice Hinger. Billie emphasized her focus this year would be on “Leadership and Best Practices”. Our guest speaker was a member of Princeton’s staff and talked with us about Alzheimer’s disease. She encouraged everyone to “Get active and stay active/To exercise your brain.” and in doing so, you would be more likely to stave off the onset of the disease. Glenn Ireland and Tina McCormick served the lunch which was enjoyed. A question posed at the meeting was “Does your hospital pay for attendees of volunteers to the state conference?” Eunice Stagner, Vice Chairman

Jeannie Reeder is “ready to party” at the quarterly volun-teer meeting in Tuscaloosa.

We have moved into our new gift shop located at the new entrance of the hospital. It is going well and our volunteers have stepped up to the plate to staff it. Our volunteers continue visiting residents, helping with Bingo on Mondays & Thursdays and with the monthly Birthday par-ties. We have several dedicated volunteers who help with these events. We enjoy these times with the residents as much as they do. We have several new vol-unteers who have really hit the ground running, helping with our activities. We are thankful for them as we are such a small auxil-iary. Each day brings a new joy. Virginia Miller, President

Bibb Medical Center

Pickens County Hospital Auxiliary P A G E 7 V O L U M E 2 4 I S S U E 2

2011 is behind us, and now we look forward to 2012 as another “Rewarding” year for our auxiliary and the NEW Hospital. It looks like Spring with everything starting to bloom and the trees with new leaves. A time when everyone should be cheerful, happy and looking forward to a new beginning. Thanks to everyone who helped with making Heart Day a suc-cess!!! “Let nothing dim the light that shines within. The door to happiness opens outward.”

“Cleaning for a Reason” This organization will have a partici-pating Maid Service arrange to do FREE housecleaning once per month for women undergoing chemotherapy for up to 4 months while she is in treat-ment. For more information, contact http://www.cleaningforareason.org Judy Brennan, President

Our auxiliary has been busy in December. We had our Arts and Crafts/Bake Sale. We have vendors come in and set up their crafts in the Professional Office Building. The vendors start calling for these spots as early as May & June. This year was one of the best we’ve ever had. The volunteers also had a bake sale during this time with the biggest profits ever made. We held a Masquerade Sale and helped with the Salvation Army Angel Tree Project where hospital employees adopted 40 Angels. Tray favors were provided for all Christmas patients and our Annual Volunteer Christmas Party was held on Dec. 16th, with the volunteers caroling throughout the hospital. We started 2012 with a Uniform Sale. Uniforms-2-U was our vendor and the sale was great as usual. In February, it was our pleasure to hosts the District II meeting with auxiliary members com-ing to Princeton from other hospitals. New volunteer orientation was held in February with 5 new/fabulous volun-teers joining our auxiliary. Jane Pearson, President

Princeton Baptist Medical Center

St. Vincent/St. Clair Hospital

Six members attended the state convention in Bir-

mingham. We were able to learn many new things that we can use in our auxiliary. We were excited to win 2nd place in our Yearbook for middle sixed hospitals. October is the month all auxilians will receive their annual Flu shots and TB skin testing. In November the hospital held its annual awards dinner. Eight of our volunteers attended (three with 5 years of service, three with 10 years and two with 15 years). They were awarded pins and gift cards. In December we held our annual Bake Sale & Raffle. Through ticket sales and sale of baked goods by our members we made $1,555.00. We had our Christmas luncheon where we played “Dirty Santa” and had door prizes for all attendees. Our DVS - Lisa Driver planned and decorated for the party and it was fully enjoyed by all. We sent a $500.00 donation to Alzheimer’s of Central Ala-bama. We presented a Stocking and $50 gift card to the first Christmas baby and furnished Christmas Caps for the December Babies. During this quarter we had 62 active volunteers and worked a total of 4,770 hours. Ann Dawson, President

Shelby Baptist Medical Center

St. Vincent’s East Auxiliary presented a $500.00 check to John Croyle of the Big Oak Ranch. The Ranch provides a home for Boys and Girls where they can experi-ence the loving attention, respect and support many of them do not receive otherwise to become better pre-pared for life. Shown he r e a r e B o bb i e McReynolds and Randy Cowser with Mr. Croyle. Our December meeting was a catered Christmas luncheon with lots of music, fun and good food. What a great way to start the Holiday Season. Judy Clark, President

Princeton’s Christmas Commit-tee with caps & blankets for the

“Christmas Babies”

Princeton Auxiliary celebrated with “Caroling in the Halls” of the hospital. Everyone enjoyed the holiday festivities as we fel-

lowshipped along the way.

St. Vincent’s East Auxiliary

On January 25, 2012 Don & Sarajane Pugh, Co-Editors of the “Communicator” newsletter for the Alabama Council of Hospital Auxiliaries (ACHA); along with Ann Willard, Chairman for District II of ACHA which represents 16 counties across central Alabama were guests speakers at the quarterly meeting of the Pickens County Medical Center Volunteer Auxiliary. The meeting held in the hospi-tal cafeteria was well attended with approximately 35 volunteers. Ann Gilliam, Volunteer Coordinator and Jane Oliver, President of the Pickens Auxiliary welcomed the visitors and conducted a tour of the facility following the meeting. During the last quarterly meeting of 2011, our hospital administrator’s wife and sister-in-law provided a very emotional program on Alzheimer’s disease. They described the years they provided care for their mother and how this time influenced their lives. In appre-ciation, our auxiliary made a $100 donation to the hospital’s Senior Care Department in memory of Mrs. Dot Findley.

This photo and an arti-cle was featured in the Pickens County Her-ald. Shown right are Don & Sarajane Pugh, Jane Oliver - Pickens Co. Hospital President, and Ann Willard

P A G E 8

UAB Medical Center/University Hospital Auxiliary

During the last quarter Trinity Auxiliary added 4 new members. Total hours worked by Volunteers were 3,836 and profits from 2 sales was

$10,237.07. Donations to charities was $10,636.00. The Auxiliary purchased and donated Christmas Tree Ornaments to families of deceased Cancer patients. Deco-rated Christmas stockings were given to newborns in the month of December. Heart Pillows were given to heart surgery patients for their comfort. Funds were given to purchase 500 Bibles to be placed in patient rooms. Also, coffee and supplies were purchased for waiting areas and the Hospital Inn. A Christmas Luncheon was held to honor the Volunteers on December 15th. Volunteers were involved in several other projects, such as lighting the Hospital Christmas Tree, Gift Shop Open House, several Holiday parties and serving snacks during the Employee Benefit Fair. Trinity is already in the process of planning several new projects for 2012. I would like to Thank all the Volunteers for their time. Sandra Whalen, President

During the months of October, November and Decem-ber we welcomed two new volunteers. As of December 30th, we

had 64 active and 37 inactive members. Walker Baptist volunteers worked 4,185 1/4 hours during the 4th quarter.

On October 8th, we held our first ever Rummage sale. Several volunteers had the pleasure of hauling yard sale merchandise to two locations around town and ultimately placing a ton of stuff on our front parking lot. We arrived at Walker at 5:00 a.m. (in the dark) unloading and setting up. Before we could get the truck unloaded, a person with a flash-light was there to shop. It was hard work, but profitable.

We had 11 people attend the ACHA Fall Conference. Our auxiliary won 2nd place in Special Projects for our “New Testaments for New Borns.” Our Volunteer Christmas project was working with New Beacon Hospice donating food items for hospice families.

Our Auxiliary supplied 82 Walker Teddy Bears and 69 Teddy Bear Kits to our pediatric patients. We supplied 168 Baby New Testaments. We supplied Newborn caps to our nursery during December. We supplied coloring books & cray-ons to other departments and snacks to ICU waiting rooms. Our tray favors/crafts group made 360 tray favors. Marty Staggs, President

During its annual Fall Seminar, the University Hospital Auxiliary mem-bers gathered for fellowship and refreshments. The program fea-tured recipients of various Auxil-iary funding projects, including the nursing scholarship, the Resident Chaplain, and a nurse from Cardio-vascular Surgery and founder of the “Heart-Mate Pals” program. To actually meet the people whose lives have been helped by the Auxiliary is the true reward for volunteers! Nurses hold teddy bears which are given to young heart patients. Carol Hunter, President

T H E C O M M U N I C A T O R

Trinity Medical Center

L-R: Pastoral Care Chap-lain, Malcolm Marler, Long-time Volunteer Carolyn Bragg & Resident Chaplain Matthew Frease

Walker Baptist Hospital Auxiliary

December was a busy time at Brookwood. With the opening of our new Women's Medical Center, the auxiliary began giving ceramic bootie ornaments to all newborns – “Mary Janes” with pink gingham ribbon and “Oxfords” with blue gingham ribbon. They are wrapped in pink or blue tissue paper, bagged in clear cellophane, and tied with a pink or blue ribbon. These are given along with complimentary Brookwood birth certificates. In place of the stockings that were made for many years, new moms who deliv-ered their babies in December received a Christmas ornament. These were

adorned with holiday ribbons and had the year 2011 painted on them. The new parents loved them!! One of the highlights of the month was our annual Christmas luncheon with special guest Courtney Porter--Miss Alabama. She was there to tell us about her trip to the Miss America pag-

eant in January and to thank us for the $4,000 the auxiliary gives annually to the Miss Alabama organization for scholarships in medical related studies. To close out the year, the auxiliary always presents the first baby born on Christmas Day and the first baby born on New Year's Day with a special holiday bow.

Joanna Holmes, President

District III

P A G E 9 V O L U M E 2 4 I S S U E 2

Brookwood Medical Center

Courtney Porter, Miss Alabama Hand-painted 2011 Ornaments

District III Meeting - W O W !!!!!!!! The District III meeting held in Eutaw on March 1st was hosted by Greene County Hospital Auxiliary. The new auxiliary is small but still growing and their enthusi-asm is tremendous. They willingly accepted the challenge of hosting the meeting for this quarter. Don & Sarajane Pugh, co-editors for the Communicator were the guests speakers and they made a presentation on newsletters for auxiliaries.

They emphasized that newsletters do not have to be large-elaborate publications, they just need to focus on the mem-bers of the auxiliary and their activities and tell some of the functions within the hospital. Beverly Commander, Vice Chairman

P A G E 1 0

The 2011 year ended with profits. Love Lights Project profited over $2,000.00. Corporate Wreath exceeded $4,000.00. The Gift Shop, however, had a decline in profits. The New Year ushered in new members to the auxiliary. Resolutions for the New Year included renewing an earlier practice of circulating a newsletter to all members and local businesses. Our State Historian, Betty Baxley, who is a fellow auxilian, will spearhead this pro-ject. During the January meeting five (5) members collectively were recognized for more than 15,000 hours of volunteer services. The Executive Committee journeyed to Eutaw, AL to attend the District III Quarterly Meeting. This meeting was hosted by the Greene County Hospital/Nursing Home Auxiliary. We are rejoicing with our hospital in recruiting the Air Evac Life Team. This air unit will provide services for the surrounding Black Belt area a radius of seventy (70) miles from base. With this service in place, pa-tients can be transported quickly while getting quality health care. In a medi-cal emergency, your best hope for a full recovery rests in your ability to get to medical care quickly, especially if you live in rural Alabama. When seconds count, Air Evac Lifeteam’s air ambu-lance service is just what you need.

Although the winter months are considered a time for slowing down, nothing slows down at a hospital.

Jackie Cooper and Faye Burns, our VPs for Membership and Orientation, are working at a feverish pace to fill open slots with new volunteers. It seems as quickly as they can fill spaces we receive re-quests to staff new services. Whew!!! Since October we have placed 18 new volunteers into service. Even Aubie wanted to sign up. (picture at left) Unfortunately we continue to lose some to aging, declin-ing health and even death. Through February we have amassed 7,597 hours of service. The Auxiliary of East Alabama Medical Center is a busy group. We hosted our second Open Meeting on Feb. 1 with over 100 Auxilians in attendance. (Picture # 2) Sarah Gray, Vice President for Information Services provided our program. She addressed the hospi-tals diligence in implementation of Electronic Medical Records and “meaningful use” of products and services. The program was well received. Before and after the meeting, John Atkinson, EAMC Direc-tor of Public Relations, was on hand taking photographs of all Auxiliary members for the new EAMC Employee Directory which will now include all our members in Service Area order. The hope is that we can enhance the relationships with hospital staff as they can put faces to names of the volunteers they work so closely with. The Directory is scheduled to be published in April. We will keep you posted as to its success. In March we are voting on our Volunteer of the Year, which will be presented at the annual April Luncheon hosted by the Administration of EAMC in honor of our Auxiliary. Members are currently making reservations to attend the luncheon and a large turnout is expected. Sonny Smith, former

Auburn basketball coach will be the keynote speaker and he is known for his hu-morous presentations. Our Special Projects committee is currently in the process of determining how to use the $983 allocated from the recent Jewelry Sale to support the state project. We will report in the next newsletter exactly how the money was appropriated. The Auxiliary worked in collaboration with the EAMC Foundation recently in

helping staff the phones and other miscellaneous areas for the Celebrate Life Share-a-thon. The one day radio-thon raised over $15,000 for the Foundation programs. Kiki Smith, a volunteer in the ICU Waiting Room, passed away in September. Her husband, Phil-lip, donated her collection of approximately 400 Beanie Babies to Chaplain Scott Lee to be used at his discretion. Her memory will live on, what a thoughtful idea! On March 1, Barbara and Gene Blankenship, co-presidents, along with Jenny Roe, special projects chairman attended the District III meeting in Eutaw, AL. The meeting was hosted by the “Greene Ladies”. Barbara and Gene Blankenship, Co-Presidents

T H E C O M M U N I C A T O R

Greene County Hospital Auxiliary

#2

Ann & Larry Gore, VP’s for Programs planned and orchestrated refreshments enjoyed prior to our meetings. Shown right is one of our volunteers getting those wonderful refreshments.

Below Barbara & Gene Blankenship, co-Presidents attend the District III meeting in Greene County.

President Johnnie Knot (above) and Mark Chustz, Administrator of Greene County Hospital welcomed guests to Eutaw for the Dis-trict III meeting on March 1.

East Alabama Medical Center

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Ribbon cutting for Handicapped Restroom - After several years of planning, designing and many fund raisers, the Wedowee Hospital Auxiliary finally has had a new handicapped accessible restroom built in the hospital

near the lobby. The auxiliary also had the two existing restrooms renovated. There was a Ribbon Cutting ceremony to officially open the new facilities. The auxiliary is very proud of the finished restrooms. One of the employees of the hospital was in need of assistance at Christmas this year. The employees and auxiliary members mad donations to the family to ensure a happy Christmas for two you children in the family. Tree of Lights - this year the auxiliary had a tree put up on the front lawn of the hospital. People purchased col-ored lights “in honor of” or “in memory of” friends or loved one. The list of honorees was published in the local newspaper. The auxiliary held a tree lighting ceremony and provided cookies and punch afterward. Everyone attending sang Christ-mas carols. The ladies of the auxiliary hosted a luncheon on Feb. 13th for the hospital staff, clinic staff and auxiliary volunteers. The members mad a variety of homemade soups, sandwiches and tasty desserts. Everyone ate in the hospital cafeteria and enjoyed the food and fellowship. The auxiliary was able to purchase 4 TV’s to replace broken ones in some patient rooms. We also had the parking lot re-striped.

Wedowee Hospital

The 2011 year ended with profits. Love Lights Project profited over $2,000.00. Corporate Wreath exceeded $4,000.00. The Gift Shop, however, had a decline in profits. The New Year ushered in new members to the auxiliary. Resolutions for the New Year included renewing an earlier practice of circulating a newsletter to all members and local businesses. Our State Historian, Betty Baxley, who is a fellow auxilian, will spearhead this project. During the January meeting five (5) members collectively were recognized for more than 15,000 hours of volunteer services. The Executive Committee journeyed to Eutaw, AL to attend the District III Quarterly Meeting. This meeting was hosted by the Greene County Hospital/Nursing Home Auxiliary. We are rejoicing with our hospital in recruiting the Air Evac Life Team. This air unit will provide services for the surrounding Black Belt area a radius of seventy (70) miles from base. With this service in place, patients can be transported quickly while getting quality health care. In a medical emergency, your best hope for a full recovery rests in your ability to get to medical care quickly, especially if you live in rural Alabama. When seconds count, Air Evac Lifeteam’s air ambulance service is just what you need.

Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Auxiliary

 Vaughan Regional Medical Center’s Auxiliary newly elected 

officers were installed by past State President Sharon Farst in January.   

The new officers are as follows:   President:  Shirley Pugh     Vice President:  Martha Plummer     Treasurer:  Bonnie Mollett     Secretary:  Linda Forman     Corresponding Secretary:  Judy Davenport        Sharon explained to our volunteers how a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.  Each of us has something to contribute, and volunteering is a great way to do that.  We must all join together to be the strongest and best auxiliary we can be, supporting Vaughan Regional.          Thank you, Sharon, for the inspirational message to kick off 2012. 

Vaughan Regional Medical Center

Front Row L-R: Johnnie Knott, Brenda Packer, Sharon Farst, Betty Baxley Back Row: J.D. Barnes, Rebecca Culpepper and Pearl Slay

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District IV Greetings from District IV, home of white sands and pristine beaches. Of course, all of us are not on the beach, but we are close. I know all of you are busy serving your hospitals and having fund raisers. I attended the ACHA Board meeting in Montgomery in January and District IV meeting at Infirmary West on February 15th in Mobile. I have been trying to improve on Leadership. I am really amazed at all the hard work District IV auxiliaries are doing and know that their hospitals realize what an asset they are as well as all of you over the state of Alabama. Keep up the good work and keep inspiring me.

District IV’s next meeting will be on Monday, April 9, 2012 at Atmore Community Hospital in Atmore. I hope to see you there! Elinor Ott, District IV Vice-Chairman

T H E C O M M U N I C A T O R

“One can never have too great a supply of patience and mild persuasion.” Our first District IV Meeting of 2012, emphasized the Oct-Dec quarterly activities. We were hosted by Infirmary West, in Mobile. Ten Auxiliaries were represented by 26 attendees, including Billie Simpson, State Chair; Alice Hinger, Chair-Elect; Sharon Farst, Immediate Past Chair and Constance Taylor, Gift Shop Committee Chair. President’s reports were heard and then assembled into packets for each auxiliary to take back to share with their respective auxiliaries. District IV has 786 Active Members reporting 38,047 hours of volunteer service hours. Following a very special luncheon, our State officers remained and spent time answering questions, offering new ideas, information, updates, support and encouragement. We want to thank them for being there and their concern. Everyone was reminded of the current Newsletter deadline on March 8th, as well as the list of non-participants in the last issue - January 2012. Please share your issue of the Communicator with other Auxilians and staff. Also, go on line at www.alaha.org, click on “Affiliates” and scroll down to view the ACHA information, past issues of the Communicator, etc. It is important a remind each auxiliary to be sure to complete a new “Notification of Election of Auxiliary President” form each year to be sure that ACHA has your current information on file for your officers. TO ALL AUXILIANS - STATEWIDE, please know that you are in my daily thoughts and prayers for protection against harm from storms, accidents and illness. Thank you for all you do……………. District IV will be meeting next on Monday, April 9, 2012, at Atmore Community Hospital in Atmore. Kay Weiss, District IV Chairman

District IV

The Auxiliary had representative at the Fall Conference in Birmingham, Claudnette McGrew, DVS and Constance Taylor, President. As you already know, it was informa-

tive, humorous and most all beneficial to those in attendance. The Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony was one of the best in recent years because of the attendance of President Gordon Moulton of the University, Mr. Chris Jett of USA Children and Women, Mrs. Beth Anderson and Mr. Elmer Sellers, Administrators of the Medical Center. Mr. Bob Lowery of USA Public Relations Department was the Master of Ceremonies. Entertainment was provided by the Mary Sue Evans Youth Choir of Revelation Baptist Church under the musical direction of Mrs. Eugenia B. Rankins, retired Mobile County Public School System, Choir Director. Rev. Tyree Richburg, our volunteer chaplain was also a part of the program. We were elated! The Auxiliary has a new Gift Shop Manager, Mrs. Kathy Betts and Mrs. Arletha Patrick as a part time employee following the retirement of Ms Carol Graham. The Auxiliary is proud to have donated financially to the refurbishing of the board room (electronics, carpeting and upholstering of chairs). During the season of sharing and giving, a family in need was given a gift card to shop for their young chil-dren to help them have a joyous holiday. The Holiday Luncheon meeting was held at a local restaurant. DVS McGrew presented the board members with a thank you gift for their service to the Auxiliary. Eighteen (18) students of The Mattie T. Blount High School Pre- Health Ca-reer program were recently welcomed by the Office of Volunteers. The instructor for the students is Mrs. L. Michelle Spriggs, RN. The program is eight (8) weeks with a four (4) week rotation with each student working in their area of interests. They will be given a reception and presented with a certificate at the end of the program. Pic-tured are just a few of the students assigned at USA Medical Center.

University of South Alabama Medical Center

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Sally Jones, Aux. V.P. led our 27th Annual Tree of Lights project. Lights, rib-bons and ornaments were sold to brighten the holidays and raise money for the auxil-iary health career scholarship fund. The program raised more than $2,500. Dr. Ahmet Helvacioglu, Thomas Hospital Medical Staff president, served as the honorary chair-person. A new tradition was born this holiday with our auxilians making Christmas

stockings for newborns in the Thomas Hospital Birth Center. Several talented auxilians joined volunteer Barbara Davis, with assis-tance from Birth Center staff members, in making more than 50 stockings by hand, which were embroidered with the words “Thomas Hospital Auxiliary” on one side. On the other was stitched “Special Delivery from Santa.” Birth Center staff reported that the stockings were so well-liked that parents requested them for their newborns’ first formal photo. Our auxiliary Christmas celebration was at the Fairhope Civic Center. Approximately 130

volunteers attended with featured musical performances by guitarist Mark Habib and refreshments from Thomas Hospital Food and Nutrition Ser-vices.

2012 began with Auxiliary dona-tions of food, art supplies & money to Shepherd’s Place, a program for indi-viduals with Alzheimer’s disease. The program is run by Fairhope United Methodist Church. The donations were in support of ACHA’s statewide project. Sarah Johnson was chosen as Volunteer of the Quarter for Jan-Mar, 2012. Since joining the auxiliary 10 years ago, she has volunteered over 5,000 hours. In February we hosted a Valentine’s Day tea. Auxilians attended at the event at Fairhope United Meth-odist Church Christian Life Center and were treated to refreshments, a gift tote bag, and H-E-A-R-T bingo games led by Bill McLaughlin, Thomas Hospital Admin-istrator & Exec. VP at Infirmary Health.

Thomas Hospital Auxiliary

Remember to notify ACHA of your “Change of Officers” if your Auxiliary has had elections and changes have been made, to insure that important information is being addressed to the proper officers. See your District Chairmen to obtain change forms, or contact one of the ACHA offi-

cers. Also, Check out the ACHA website as Sharon reminded you on page 4 of the Communicator. Please help keep us current on your auxiliary changes….. Thanks

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Southwest Alabama Medical Center

Springhill Memorial Hospital This has been a very active winter - weather wise. With the warm winter We have all seen several storms. We hope all auxiliaries have suffered thru O.K. In January, we had our general review and in-service for volunteers. It is always good to review rules and regs, that we don’t use everyday. We gave a donation to McKemie Place and a memorial donation in honor of two deceased volunteers to The American Cancer Society and the Child Advocacy Center. In February Linda Reynolds and Eunice Evans attended a Volunteer Recruit-ment at the Mobile Museum of Art. Eunice and Linda handed our “Files of Life” and recruited volunteers at Springhill Hospital’s “Love Your Heart” Expo on Feb. 10th. Glo-ria Liggett and Susan Maddox represented the Auxiliary at the District IV meeting. Our Nominating Committee - Clara Damp, Geri Creighton, Marguerite Leffard, Judy Stacks; plus the Budget Committee, comprised of Marguerite Leffard, Peggy Hagar, Gloria Liggett and Susan Maddox are making plans for next year. Our new budget and new slate of officers for 2012-13 will be presented at the March general meeting. Happy Easter and Happy Mother’s Day Susan Maddox, Co-President

Southwest Alabama Medical Auxiliary serving Thomasville Health Care & Rehabilitation Center has been busy visiting the residents and making tray favors for the upcoming holi-days. Audrey Evans and her granddaughter, Sarah Fiore, delivered the New Year’s and Val-entine day tray favors (bottom photo). The residents love to see young people so you know they really enjoyed being visited by Sarah.

Geraldine Morgan, an auxiliary member since 2000 passed away last year and we are getting her jacket and picture framed to be displayed along with two other deceased members who were active at the time of their death. We purchased a conference room table and recently had a glass placed on it to preserve the looks of the table. We also presented all the Alz-heimer and other forms of Dementia material we received to the THCRC Director, Dianne Gatlin, to be used by all staff, family and residents. We will have a Masquerade Jewelry sale on March 19 & 20, 2012. Elinor Ott, President

T H E C O M M U N I C A T O R

Billie Simpson ACHA Chairman (256) 486-3389 billie743@charter.net

Alice Hinger ACHA Chairman-Elect (251) 626-9697 abhinger@att.net

Sharon Farst Past Chairman (334) 289-8518 grammysharon@bellsouth.net

Betty Baxley Historian (334) 289-2957 baxleyb@bellsouth.net

Don & Sarajane Pugh Newsletter Co-Chairman (205) 462-3374 ezzzlife@peoplepc.com

Constance Taylor Gift Shop Chairman (251) 456-5951 brandci@bellsouth.net

Debi Jacobson Program Chairman (256) 245-8585 debijag@bellsouth.net

Betty Caffee Project Chairman (251) 456-7967 bcshoes48@gmail.com

Jamie Weeks DVS Liaison (334) 793-8122 jweeks@samc.org

Eunice Evans at “Love Your Heart Expo” //////// Below: Springhill’s Budget Committee

Providence Hospital

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Again we are seeing massive destruction, devastation and death across the country caused by Tornados with many families being hit for a second time. Here at home a Coast Guard helicopter crashed in Mobile Bay, all four young crew members’ perished. They were on search and rescue training maneuvers. We at Provi-dence extend our deepest sympathy to the families of the tornado and crash victims. The Masquerade Jewelry Sale commission in Nov-Dec netted $8,113, about $3,500 less than the prior year but very accept-able considering the loss of payroll deduction. The Christmas Tree Lighting netted $15,246 thanks to the many faithful participants’ contributions; this was comparable to the previous year. Christmas day was on Sunday, Santa’s Sleigh with Santa and his

Elf’s arrived at Providence Hospital on Christmas Eve spreading joy, cheer and gifts to patients, staff and all children-patient or visitors. In February we began our contest for an “Alzheimer’s Care-givers Day Out”. The criteria: the contestant must be a fulltime (24/7) caregiver (in the local area) of a family member who suffers with

Alzheimer’s. The day out includes: A day of care for the Alzheimer’s patient. A female winner: A facial, manicure & pedicure, lunch & afternoon activity. A male winner: Lunch and an activity of his choice (golf, etc.) Infirmary West, Mobile hosted the District IV meeting in February. The table treats were Mardi Gras, we were served a deli-cious lunch of soup, sandwich and the hospitals famous pistachio cake (yum). State Board Officers arriving with Alice Hinger (Chairman-Elect) were Billie Simpson (Chairman) and Sharon Farst (Past Chairman). Alice turned the floor over to Billie and Sharon. Bil-lie’s message was on “Leadership” and “What you do to get atten-dance”. She listed four qualities needed to make a good leader. Have good Communication skills Have a Positive attitude Be a Good listener

Be Honest She said to work on two of your weak qualities to become a more effective leader. Work with the group, helping others in their greatness. “To lead is to serve!” Sharon discussed the importance of accessing the ALAHA website to locate the Communicator and many interesting and informative features. I especially like the idea of having copies of the Communicator placed in the different work areas for Vol-unteers to read. The meeting was very informative, interesting and most inspiring; Alice, Billy and Sharon are all terrific com-municators who I thoroughly enjoy listening to and learn-ing from. In March we have a Uniform sale scheduled with a new, local vendor “Life Uniforms”. We miss Uniforms 2 U 2 but I am hopeful that the results with Life Uniforms will be favorable. March 29th-April 1st the Providence Hospital Foundation

will host its 19th Annual Fes-tival of Flowers. The event promises to be even greater than in past years. Many of our Auxiliary volunteers including myself will be helping out in the many different

areas. The Nominating committee is procuring a slate of officers for the 2012-13 Board of Directors to be presented to the Advisory Board then to the General Assembly for approval in March. At the May Luncheon, Nominee’s will be installed and I will pass the gavel to the 2012-13 Auxil-iary President. This is my last Communicator article as President. It’s hard to know what to say when leaving. It has been a pleasure working with everyone in the State & District IV. All of the Conferences that I attended were very informa-tive and educational. I have learned so much, yet still I have a lot to learn. I want to thank everyone for their help and support. Don and Sarajane, you have been absolutely terrific to work with, I will miss seeing you both and every-one at future Conferences. Beverly Mizell, Auxiliary President

Tom Guyton District I Chairman (256) 773-5300 tguyton01@bellsouth.net

Shirley Brocato District I Vice Chairman (256) 381-0964 shirlbro@bellsouth.net

Ann Willard District II Chairman (205) 553-3974 gaewillard@aol.com

Eunice Stagner District II Vice Chairman (205) 664-2490 eunicestagner@att.net

Julie Hill District III Chairman (334) 616-0452 jhillineufaula@bellsouth.net

Beverly Commander District III Vice Chairman (256) 396-2446 bcommander@centurytel.net

Kay Weiss District IV Chairman (251) 460-2898 kjrweiss@hotmail.com

Elinor Ott District IV Vice Chairman (334) 636-2091 elinoro@bellsouth.net

“The COMMUNICATOR” Don & Sarajane Pugh 762 Cambridge Lane Tuscaloosa, AL 35406

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Deadlines for COMMUNICATOR - 2012 June 8th September 8th December 8th National Volunteer Appreciation Week April 15-21, 2012 SDVSHO Conference - Myrtle Beach, S.C. April 22-24, 2012 ACHA Fall Conference - Guntersville State Park Oct. 21-24, 2012