In a world where constant change is the only reliable certainty, it is nice to know that some traditions still withstand the test of time. It was probably some 30 years or so ago that the St. Andrews Hospital Auxiliary began serving a Christmas luncheon to what was then a small group of employees at St. Andrews Hospital in thanks for their dedicated service to the community.

Fast forward to Dec. 15, 2016 and, once again, like every year since the ’80s, Auxilians for St. Andrews could be found at both the Family Care Center conference room and in the main dining room up at The Village serving delicious homemade dishes and desserts in a festive holiday atmosphere to all the employees of both facilities. Auxiliary Vice President Irene Gerny greeted those who dined at the Village and Penny Thumith, head of the St. Andrews Thrift Store operation and former president, stood in for President Carol Ostermann to welcome luncheon guests at the Cochran conference room. In all, 123 lunches were served, 70 at the St. Andrews campus and 53 at the Village.

It takes a coordinated effort to put together this event and thanks go out to: the Boothbay Region Greenhouses, Rose Marie Kreppein and Carol Lingard for the donation of wreaths and a table centerpiece, which graced the respective venues before being given away to three lucky raffle winners; to Hannaford for its donation of punch and cranberry sauce; to Doug Hicks and Gary Begin at the SA Campus and the staff at the Village for assistance with set up; to Bob Gentry for providing music and a cozy fireplace video at the Cochran conference room to add to the holiday ambiance; to all the Auxiliary members who donated casseroles, salads and desserts; to committee volunteers who served the meal and to co-chairs Laura Honey and Cindy Sanborn who worked with Social Activities Chair Ann Kelley to make the event a success.

St. Andrews Auxiliary could not do the work it does without the generous support of the Boothbay Region community. The Auxiliary raises money each year to support various aspects of our local health care system. Our primary funding source is the St. Andrews Thrift Shop, which operates solely on the donation of goods, the sales of said goods and the thousands of volunteer hours it takes to make the store a success. If you are interested in the work of the Auxiliary and would like to be a part of it, please consider volunteering at the Thrift Shop, at the Village or on the St. Andrews campus, or assisting the Auxiliary Board as a committee member. Applications for Auxiliary membership are available at the Thrift Shop.