Kemptville District Hospital (KDH) honoured its dedicated volunteers on Friday, April 19, 2024 at a well-attended Volunteer Appreciation Tea held during National Volunteer Week.
KDH’s Chief Executive Officer Frank Vassallo welcomed attendees along with Jeff Nolan, Chair of the Hospital’s Board of Directors, and several members of nursing staff. North Grenville Mayor Nancy Peckford also took time out of her busy schedule to attend the celebration.
Vassallo opened the program with a warm welcome to the dozens of members of the KDH Auxiliary gathered at Heritage Hall, home to Catered Affairs on the Kemptville Campus.
“I’m so happy we are all here today to recognize the invaluable contributions of our dedicated volunteers,” he said. “No matter what your role is as a volunteer, I want you to know what a difference you make every day to the experience of our patients and their families as well as our staff.”
“Our annual Volunteer Tea has always been a very important event in the life of the Hospital as it gives us the opportunity to formally recognize and thank all of our volunteers,” Vassallo added.
Next up, accompanied by Auxiliary Volunteer Coordinator Connie Parsons, current Auxiliary President André Rancourt presented the volunteers with a series of awards.
Certificates of Appreciation were presented to Trudy Arnaud, Linda Brennan, Mary Cruse, Maretta Hay, Sylvia Johnston, Dorothy Leeder (retiring after seven years of service), Mike O’Brien, Art Parks (retiring after seven years of service), Ferne Richardson, and Donna Thibert (retiring after 15 years of service).
Outstanding Service Awards were presented to Betty Beach (who gave 553 hours of volunteer service in 2023), Susan Brown, Jean Gallant (526 hours in 2023), Teresa Harrison, Johanna Kuntz (819 hours in 2023), Connie Parsons (770 hours of service in 2023), and Judy Walsh.
An Award of Excellence was presented to Linda Carnegie (who gave 845 hours of volunteer service in 2023).
In addition, Linda Brennan and Jean Gallant received a “V-Pin” in recognition of achieving the milestone of giving more than 1,000 hours of volunteer service in total to KDH. Susan Brown also received her V-pin for serving for four years on the Auxiliary Executive.
At the conclusion of the awards presentation, Rancourt expressed thanks to the Hospital for hosting the annual Volunteer Appreciation Event. “I simply want to thank KDH on behalf of all the volunteers,” he said, “for recognizing the contribution each volunteer makes for the benefit of KDH patients and staff.”
The final speaker of the day was North Grenville Mayor, Nancy Peckford, who referenced the invaluable contributions that volunteers make at KDH and other not-for-profit organizations throughout the Municipality. “Volunteers are so integral to the high quality of life that so many of our residents enjoy. Thank you for all that you do on behalf of Kemptville District Hospital. We are deeply appreciative of your dedication and support !” she said.
KDH is grateful to everybody who helped to make the 2024 Volunteer Appreciation Tea so memorable, including KDH’s internal volunteer coordinator Julia Hunter, and Catered Affairs who provided an array of unique and tantalizing selections.
The event exemplified the theme of this year’s National Volunteer Week, “Every Moment Matters”, highlighting the importance of every volunteer and the unique contributions they make to their communities.
