When Pat Donovan was first approached about volunteering at Martin Memorial, she emphatically declined. She was semi-retired and looking forward to spending time at the pool, exercising and enjoying the proximity to the water.
But the routine soon grew monotonous and Donovan decided to look into joining the Martin Memorial Auxiliary. Nineteen years later, Donovan has made her mark not only on the Auxiliary, but the entire health system.
On Feb. 27, Donovan
(at right in the picture below, with Joan Lemke, president of the Auxiliary) earned her 30,000th hour of volunteer service. It is the most hours recorded by a volunteer in the Martin Memorial Auxiliary’s 66-year history.
“It seems like it was so long ago, but it wasn’t,” she said. “The hospital has changed quite a bit since I started.”
Donovan’s tenure is notable for more than just her longevity. She has spent most of her time in the Auxiliary as gift shop coordinator, selling flowers and stuffed animals, balloons and souvenirs to hospital patients and their guests. When she started, the gift shop was nothing but a small room with a table or two, tablecloths tossed over them to spruce things up.
Slowly but surely, things began to improve at the gift shop, thanks largely to Donovan’s experience running a business with her husband. The shop was expanded and cleaned up. More merchandise was made available. Helium was brought in to inflate balloons. Visa and Mastercard were set up so that customers could pay by credit card.
Soon, the shop became profitable. In the first 10 years Donovan was there, the gift shop made $1 million. In 2007, the total profits reached $2 million, taking just eight years to earn the second million dollars.
“She does so much for the hospital,” Lemke said. “It’s practically been a full-time job.”
But the routine soon grew monotonous and Donovan decided to look into joining the Martin Memorial Auxiliary. Nineteen years later, Donovan has made her mark not only on the Auxiliary, but the entire health system.
On Feb. 27, Donovan
(at right in the picture below, with Joan Lemke, president of the Auxiliary) earned her 30,000th hour of volunteer service. It is the most hours recorded by a volunteer in the Martin Memorial Auxiliary’s 66-year history.“It seems like it was so long ago, but it wasn’t,” she said. “The hospital has changed quite a bit since I started.”
Donovan’s tenure is notable for more than just her longevity. She has spent most of her time in the Auxiliary as gift shop coordinator, selling flowers and stuffed animals, balloons and souvenirs to hospital patients and their guests. When she started, the gift shop was nothing but a small room with a table or two, tablecloths tossed over them to spruce things up.
Slowly but surely, things began to improve at the gift shop, thanks largely to Donovan’s experience running a business with her husband. The shop was expanded and cleaned up. More merchandise was made available. Helium was brought in to inflate balloons. Visa and Mastercard were set up so that customers could pay by credit card.
Soon, the shop became profitable. In the first 10 years Donovan was there, the gift shop made $1 million. In 2007, the total profits reached $2 million, taking just eight years to earn the second million dollars.
“She does so much for the hospital,” Lemke said. “It’s practically been a full-time job.”
--Scott Samples
Public Information Coordinator
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