St. Luke&squo;s Hospital Auxiliary recently received another Five Star Achievement plaque, the highest award possible, at the 26th Annual North Carolina Hospital Volunteer (NCHV) Conference in Greensboro, N.C. This is the ninth time the organization has earned this high award.

In order to receive this award, points must be earned in 26 different categories, which include: initiate or update a new volunteer service, write or update job descriptions, publish a newsletter, send a delegate to legislative day, as well as other district and state meetings, and others.

Auxiliary members say the conference is a wonderful opportunity allowing volunteers and volunteer directors to network with other volunteers from across the state, share ideas, and gain education on various workshop topics. Also, a vendor mart is presented to allow volunteers to see the potential fundraising options of various sales that can be held in their hospital to benefit auxiliary programs and scholarship funds.

St. Luke&squo;s Hospital Auxiliary has approximately 175 volunteers who operate the hospital gift shop, the St. Luke&squo;s Thrift Store in downtown Tryon, the hospital print shop, and a courier service. Hospital volunteers deliver mail, flowers, and newspapers to patients and they work in virtually every department in the hospital.

If you are interested in joining the St. Luke&39;s Hospital Auxiliary, call Connie Kuykendall at 828-894-3525, extension 3350.