Bender’s kindness earns her Gardener Award

Ann Bender, imaging registrar, recently was awarded Goshen Health’s Gardener Award for the thoughtfulness she showed to a patient.

The patient, Gordon Bontrager, wrote in the nomination, “I have to get MRIs every six months and request CDs of the images to upload to my surgeon in Chicago. Without asking, Ann graciously provides her hospital number allowing me to call and tell her when I expect to arrive at the back door closest to imaging. When she gets a free moment, she brings the image disk to my car. What a difference one employee can make in a patient’s day. Is the 1.5 minutes handy for her? Probably not. But she recognizes that it is a little, mostly unnoticed thing she can do for patients to make their day that much easier.”

“We appreciate Ann’s attentiveness to our patients’ needs. She is exceptionally thoughtful and generous in these acts of kindness that mean so much and build stronger relationships with our patients,” said Michelle Sinkovics, director of imaging, Goshen Health. “We love having her on our team.”

The Gardener Award recognizes the exceptional contributions of Goshen Health Colleagues in helping the organization fulfill its mission of improving the health of the community by providing innovative and outstanding care.

To find out more about the Gardener Award, visit GoshenHealth.com/About-Us/GardenerAward. Nominations can also be submitted through this link.

We LEAD Kosciusko event invites community members to be ‘change-makers’

The Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program Kosciusko invites all who live and work in the community to “We LEAD Kosciusko,” a call-out event for those interested in volunteering and leading in Kosciusko County.

The event will take place from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, at Wyndham Garden Hotel, 2519 E. Center St., Warsaw. The purpose is to bring together local leaders and residents for connection, learning, and information sharing about community and public service opportunities. The idea came to life through the work of a HELP Kosciusko project group.

“The idea is to engage and support new leaders in our community,” said Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe. “Whether you’re interested in running for public office, serving on a nonprofit or service club board, or leading in another capacity, it’s important that together as a community, we share opportunities and insight to support people as they explore and step into these roles.”

The event will include a keynote presentation from Fort Wayne native and Hoosier leader, Eric Doden, as well as remarks from local leader, Leo Patiño of Indiana Tech Warsaw, about the importance of leading where you live. Attendees will also have the opportunity to engage with a lineup of leaders covering several local opportunity areas including: public service and elected office, community boards, nonprofit organizations, service clubs and Kosciusko Leadership Academy.

“I hope community-minded members will join us to learn about opportunities to serve in Kosciusko County. Whether you are interested in an elected position, appointed government board, nonprofit board, civic organization membership or enrolling in the leadership acad- emy, I hope there is something to excite you about the possibilities to give back to Kosciusko County,” said Kosciusko County councilwoman and project member, Sue Ann Mitchell. “One of my favorite sayings is, ‘No one of us is as smart as all of us.’ Come join us as there is room for many to serve in our community.”

The event will also honor a fellow Hoosier leader, who has gone before. Aug. 3 is significant in that it marks the one-year anniversary of the passing of Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski.

“As a leader and community advocate, who was deeply passionate about public service and creating positive change for Hoosiers, what better way to honor Rep. Walorski than to bring people together to learn about community building, with the goal of bringing forth more public servants,” said Roe. “Let’s honor her legacy by empowering and supporting more ‘change-makers’ in our communities.”

Open connection time and networking will follow the presentation and memorial portions of the event.

“Our hope is that people walk away with more information and resources, valuable connections, and direction as to what might interest them. We’ve received some inquiries from organizations about setting up individual booths at the event –– we’re not offering that opportunity since this is meant to offer a high-level overview. However, we will share a flyer directing attendees to more information about what’s available in our community and how to get involved,” said Roe.

The event is free to attend; light refreshments will be provided. If you and/or a guest plan to attend, RSVP by Friday, July 21 to: bit.ly/ WeLEADKosciusko2023.

This event is hosted by HELP Kosciusko with support from Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation, and sponsored by K21 Health Foundation and Kosciusko County Community Foundation.