At the annual general meeting of the Palmerston and District Hospital Auxiliary on April 10, member Ruth Wilson handed over the gift shop keys to new coordinator Bonnie St. Jean.
Wilson, who has volunteered at the shop for 12 years, has stepped down as coordinator but will continue as a regular shop volunteer.
“Ruth has been very dedicated,” said auxiliary president Adrienne Gilbert. “She’s been extremely committed to ensuring the gift shop carries on and she has increased gift shop revenue year after year.”
Gilbert noted that at the general meeting last week Wilson thanked her support team and in particular auxiliary co-treasurers Donna Hall and Everdina Bender (Hall makes the volunteer schedule for the shop), plus all of the people who have been “just a phone call away” if Wilson needed help.
Wilson, who also volunteers at the Royal Terrace Nursing Home in Palmerston and with the Minto Retirees Activity Group, told the Advertiser she enjoys her time at the hospital gift shop.
“I had a lot of time on my hands and it really appealed to me,” Wilson said of what first motivated her to get involved. “A lot of times it wasn’t work, it was fun.”
Like many in the area, Wilson remains very dedicated to the Palmerston hospital.
“It’s a small town … we want to keep the thing going,” she said.
Gilbert said the auxiliary would like to thank Wilson and also welcome St. Jean to her new role. Gilbert also reminds people the shop offers a wide variety of items for sale “at a reasonable cost” and HST-free.
“It’s a lot of small items that add up … we do what we can,” said Gilbert.
She noted gift shop revenue (about $6,000 the past year) goes to the hospital foundation to be put towards equipment purchases. This year the foundation will put the money towards an upright freezer.
The gift shop is open Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm and Friday 10am to 1pm.
