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Hospital thanks auxiliary for 50 years of service

Paul Stubblefield visits the table where Jane Myers (left), Lelia Kinner (center) and Betty Davis sit Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, at The Fort Hamilton Hospital's

Staff photo by Apryl Pilolli Paul Stubblefield visits the table where Jane Myers (left), Lelia Kinner (center) and Betty Davis sit Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, at The Fort Hamilton Hospital's "thank you" event at The Courtyard by Marriott Hamilton. The event commemorated 50 years of service by the hospital's auxiliary staff. See more photos from this event online.

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By Eric Schwartzberg, Staff Writer 7:05 PM Sunday, November 8, 2009

HAMILTON — Officials with The Fort Hamilton Hospital on Sunday, Nov. 8, honored a group that has helped for five decades – its auxiliary.

Speaking at an event at The Courtyard by Marriott Hamilton, Lynn Oswald, senior vice president, said the hospital has a “rich heritage.”

“We have a lot to be proud of and a lot to be thankful for but it’s very, very different if you remove one important piece,” Oswald told auxiliary members. “You are one of those important pieces and we wouldn’t be who we are and wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what we have so far without people like you.”

The Rev. John Lewis, who serves on the hospital’s board of trustees, praised the auxiliary for the time it has contributed and the more than $2 million it raised over the years to donate medical equipment and help with remodelings, expansions and other projects.

“We could not have the hospital we have today, were it not for you,” Lewis said.

Margie Keller of Fairfield, manager of he auxiliary’s gift shop, said the group’s members also donate poinsettias to patients for Christmas, machine-washable stuffed animals for children in the emergency department and candy bars to employees via the gift shop once a year.

Peggy Turner, the hospital’s director of volunteer services, said the auxiliary boasts nearly 300 volunteers, some volunteering as little as one day a year and others volunteering many hours each week.

In attendance at Sunday’s event was Lelia Kinner, 88, of Hamilton, who has been with the auxiliary since its inception and served as the group’s treasurer since 1973.

“I really enjoy it or I wouldn’t have stayed so long” she said. “I guess it’s just because I feel like I’m helping.”

To volunteer for The Fort Hamilton Hospital Auxiliary, call (513) 867-2288.

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