Auxiliary News
Annual Meeting & Fair Day News

Vermont author Archer Mayor spoke at the Auxiliary annual meeting in early October, recounting his experiences as an EMT with the NewBrook Fire and Rescue Association. Mayor is the author of the Joe Gunther murder mystery series; he described his recent venture into the world of self-publishing.

Townshend resident Ken Hoffman was honored as the 2007 Auxiliary Member of the Year in thanks for his extensive volunteer work, both in tending the Garden of Grace and in repairing and restoring furniture that’s been donated for the Fair Day Auction.

At the meeting, the membership approved several donations to the Hospital. In addition to the Auxiliary’s commitment of $10,000 towards the new parking lot, we donated $16,000 for the following equipment: a blood bank refrigerator for the Laboratory, a heated patient plate dispenser for Dietary, and an X-ray film processor for the X-ray dept.

We had planned to donate $10,000 for a cardiac treadmill for the hospital, but we received a call late in the fall that the oil furnace in the original Stratton House building no longer worked, so the $10,000 was used to keep the heat on by rebuilding the furnace. Members and Fair Day workers have made all this possible.

The Auxiliary has been able to contribute larger amounts to the Hospital in recent years in part because of the Fair Day Auction run by the Townshend Auction Gallery. A growing part of this event is the Art Auction in the early afternoon. Friends of Grace Cottage’s are donating paintings and photos worth hundreds of dollars. As in past years, a piece that won’t bring a good price in our auction is taken to the Skinner Auction Gallery. This spring a portrait by an early 20th century portrait painter, DeWitt Lockman, will be auctioned in Boston.

John Milton once wrote, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” That may have been true in the early 1600’s, but it’s not true today. We need your help at the Fair in 2008. If you are waiting to be asked, consider this an invitation. We particularly need someone to oversee Fair Day publicity. Call me at 365-4455 or Barb Barber at 365-4707 for more information.

Stan Holt, President