TAMC volunteers recognized
for donating record 16,000-plus hours last year
PRESQUE ISLE — Community members serving as TAMC volunteers contributed over 16,000 hours in 2012, a record at the organization.
Photo courtesy of TAMC
GENE CURTIS, left, TAMC director of support services, and Vice President of Diagnostic and Support Services Jim McKenney serve dinner to volunteers attending the recent annual TAMC Volunteer Recognition Dinner. The 2013 event featured a country-western theme.
TAMC recognized its 77 volunteers at a western-themed Volunteer Recognition Round-Up recently at the A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital.
The Recognition Round-up featured a meal, country line dancing with the “Step-in-Time Line Dancers” and a “Jawers’ Delight” session with speeches by TAMC President/CEO Sylvia Getman, Vice President of Diagnostic and Support Services Jim McKenney, and Manager of Volunteer Services Sherry Beaulieu. The TAMC McCain Conference Room was transformed into a scene from the Wild West, featuring a number of items loaned for the evening by the Presque Isle Tractor Supply Store.
According to Beaulieu, this year’s theme was “Volunteers make a difference in the life of others.”
“Time and time again you humble us with your generous heart and constantly remind us of the things that really matter, like ‘Did I make a difference in someone’s life today?’” said Beaulieu.
Beaulieu described some of the compassionate acts and labors of love that volunteers perform including taking on extra shifts when needed, knitting caps for cancer patients, bonnets for newborns, and blankets for comforting patients during ambulance transport; and crafting handmade heart-shaped pillows for children, among other acts.
Beaulieu said the volunteers “make us all want to feel the rewards held in the heart of someone who takes every moment they can to make a difference in the lives of others.”
Volunteers accumulated 16,906 hours in 2012, exceeding the 2011 total by 3,000 hours. TAMC staff presented numerous awards during the event, and recognized such volunteers as George Moreland, who volunteered over 1,200 hours in 2012, and Caroline C. Ballerstein, who volunteered 5,500 hours throughout her last 23 years of service. Ballerstein is among five volunteers who have served for 20 years or more.
Over half of the volunteers contributed at least 100 hours of service during 2012, and over a dozen volunteers served 300 hours or more last year.
Thirty volunteers received bar guards designating a milestone for lifetime hours of service, with 10 volunteers recognized for over 1,000 lifetime hours.
The recent volunteer recognition event was the first held since TAMC introduced its “TAMC Teens Paying It Forward” initiative last year. The program provides valuable volunteer experiences within the TAMC organization to young people age 14 and older. In addition to helping area youth meet high school requirements to perform a number of hours volunteering each year, the program provides opportunities to learn valuable skills.
Among those taking part in the teen volunteer program who were recognized at the TAMC volunteer recognition event was Katelyn Hewitt, a 2013 graduate of Caribou High School. Hewitt continues to volunteer this summer as she prepares to enter the University of Maine at Presque Isle this fall.
“TAMC makes me feel important, and I know I am making a difference when I volunteer,” said Hewitt. “Being recognized as a volunteer means so much to me because I love it. I love what I do! Knowing someone recognizes how hard I am working is really special to me.”
For her part, Beaulieu credits the volunteers with helping TAMC live up to its new slogan. “When I’m asked by folks downtown, what does ‘TAMC — More Than a Hospital’ mean, I tell them about [the volunteers].” According to Beaulieu, volunteers offer the extra tender loving care that helps TAMC function as more than a hospital.
“Volunteers are the difference between getting a job done or getting it done while offering the extra soft touch that is sometimes needed,” said Beaulieu. “They fill a void for our organization that only a true giving heart can offer.”
Volunteers allow TAMC staff to focus on direct tasks and each volunteer offers specialized skills that better a patient’s experiences, according to Beaulieu.
Sherry Madore, who received a lifetime hours bar guard for 1,000 hours at the dinner, has volunteered for six years now in the Guest Relations department and greets patients at the main entrance. She either directs patients to their destination in the facility or takes them where they need to go.
“I love dealing with the public,” said Madore. “I really enjoy it.”
Madore, retired from 30 years in the banking industry, volunteers about four hours a week.
“I feel very much a part of the family here,” said Madore. “The patients are very appreciative of what we do.”
According to Madore, the event recognizing volunteers was “fabulous.”
Regarding how TAMC works with their volunteers, Madore said, “They’re so good to us. We get as much back as we give.”
Madore plans to continue volunteering and said one of the greatest benefits to her volunteer work is the “wonderful people” she’s able to meet — both patients and TAMC staff.
The following volunteers were recognized at the event and are responsible for this unparalleled year of service: Angela McArdle of Ashland, Velma Bell and Dayna Collins of Blaine, Maynard Cowan of Bridgewater, Joseph Gaston, Willetta Gaston, Katelyn Hewitt and Jessica Ouellette, all of Caribou; Wendell Hudson of Castle Hill, Cindy Bomar, Kelsey Frank, Meghan Frank, Maureen Hull, Mary Jarvais, Carolyn Kimball, Holly Nadeau and Joshua Salkind, all of Easton; Diana Faloon, Patricia Flood, Albert Hobbs and Jeannette McBurnie, all of Fort Fairfield; Lois Bourgoin, Jason (Jay) Gallagher and Nicole Gallagher, all of Limestone; Caroline C. Ballerstein, Joyce Beaulieu, Jill Brown, Ida Burtt, Sharon Mahoney and Benjamin Nickerson, all of Mapleton; and Stephanie Barton, Reta Cousins, Karen Cushman, Eleanor Grow, Robert (Bob) Patterson and Judith H. Saucier, all of Mars Hill.
Also, Ivan Bard, Jessica Beaulieu, Sharon Berube, Joyce Bither, Ethel Condon, Margaret Damore, Phyllis Davis, Bill Deschesne, Diane Deschesne, Tom Deschesne, Lorraine Hafford, Jackie Hancock, Lisa Hewitt, Cameron Iacovelli, Lora Ireland, Phyllis Leavitt, Jaylyn Levasseur, Rose Levasseur, Fred Lyford, Sherry Madore, Connie Michaud, Gene Michaud, Harold Michaud, Roger Michaud, Rosa Michaud, Ann Moreland, George Moreland, Darlene Murphy, Sharon O’Brien, Karin Petrin, Fred Parsons, Chelsea Quinn, Joyce Sharp, Jenna Soucy, Pauline Stewart, Natalie St. Pierre, Carolyn Turner, Margaret Woodman, Barbara Wray, Eva Young and William Young, all of Presque Isle.
