04/16/2026
April 1st through April 30th is recognized as National Volunteer Month each year. The month is set aside as a time to honor and celebrate volunteers across the nation and the impact they have on individuals and agencies in their area. Richmond County Hospice is blessed with some of the most amazing volunteers around, and we don’t know what we would do without them. There is really no way to truly express the appreciation we have for each one of them!
On Tuesday, April 14th, we held our annual volunteer appreciation banquet at Outreach For Jesus. This year’s theme was "Our Volunteers Deserve a Vacation! Well at Least a Staycation" and the gym was transformed into a tropical oasis. Volunteers and their guests were encouraged to dress in their favorite Hawaiian shirts/dresses or as their best impersonation of a tacky tourist and join us for a luau in their honor.
This year our meal was sponsored by Carter Funeral Home, and we greatly appreciate their support for this event. For dinner, guests enjoyed a charcuterie spread and luau-ish foods prepared by Hidden Treasures.
Volunteers were each presented a lei as they entered and had an Oh!asis coconut patty, tiki cup and tiki straw at their place setting as a token of our appreciation for all that they do. Kristina Leyden, Richmond County Hospice, CEO welcomed guests to the celebration, and the meal was then blessed by Paula Daigle, RCH Chaplain. As guests enjoyed their meal, they were treated to some dining entertainment provided by the Aloha Island Hula Girls and of course no entertainment is complete without some audience participation, and we appreciate our volunteers and staff being good sports while learning some Hawaiian dances and competing for the “Big Kahuna”. After the dinner entertainment our program continued with some inspiring and encouraging words about the importance of volunteers and the work that they do from Walt (and Randi) Wood. Lisa Luckey then recognized our volunteers giving over 40 hours of their time to RCH in 2025, and the evening concluded with Lisa Luckey, and Julie Woody presenting several special volunteer awards.
Volunteers recognized for generously donating more than 40 hours of their time in 2025 included:
*Cayla Hardesty
*Ken Lyerly
*Da’Nasia Brewer
*Anita Jacobs
*Akeiba McNeely
*Myra Leak
*Janet Donick
*Emily Wescott
*Teri Wyman
*Linda Hatcher
Volunteer of the year awards were presented to the following:
*Rookie Volunteer of the Year- Darice Griffin
*Non-Clinical Volunteer of the Year- Terri Wyman
*Patient Care Volunteer of the Year- Randy Benton
*Special Events Volunteer of the Year- Brannon Ikner
*Professional Volunteer of the Year- Cayla Hardesty
*Board Member Volunteer of the Year- Tammy Benson
*Church Volunteer of the Year- First Baptist Church of Hamlet
*Business Volunteer of the Year- Farmers Home Furniture
*Our 2025 Mary Heavner Volunteer of the Year- Anita Jacobs
Once again, we want to thank all of our volunteers- each one of you do deserve a vacation for the work and dedication you provide to Richmond County Hospice, our patients, their families, and our staff. We hope that our brief “Staycation” helped you to feel loved and appreciated!
In addition to those participating in our program we would also like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their contributions to making our Volunteer Banquet another successful event:
*Outreach for Jesus for the use of their space for our event. They always go above and beyond to make our volunteers and staff feel welcome and even stick around to help with the cleanup process! We could never thank them enough for all that they do.
*Carter Funeral Home for sponsoring the meal for the evening. Your support is greatly appreciated.
*Lisa Luckey, and the Volunteer Banquet Planning Committee, for their hard work to make the evening such a special time for our volunteers.
* Cindy Bostick for taking pictures of the night’s event.
If you are interested in giving your time, talents, or treasures to Richmond County Hospice as a Volunteer, please contact Lisa Luckey, Volunteer/Outreach Coordinator at 910-997-4464.
