Rockdale Medical Center Auxiliary President Rachel Woolridge was announced as the hospital's volunteer of the year in today's Volunteer Appreciation Banquet.

Woolridge, who has been part of the Auxiliary since 2006, said she was humbled by the surprise announcement and honored by the trust the volunteers placed in her to be president.

"I felt a warm sense of family with all of you," she said.

Woolridge, a retired contracts administrator with Bard in Covington, started a support group in 2004 for parents who lost their children after her 17-year-old daughter, Karey, died in a car accident in 1984. She began volunteering with the hospital in 2006 as another way of giving back and healing.

RMC spokesperson Marsha Terry said Woolridge was the kind of person who was always willing to help. "She says, 'What do you need me to do, I'll do it.'"

Currently, the hospital has 92 volunteers.

CEO Deborah Armstrong said last year, volunteers gave 19,912 hours of service to the hospital, which would equal about $159,000 of paid hours that the hospital was able to save.

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