by Sallie Woodring
Director of Volunteer Services and Career Pathways
Watauga Medical Center volunteer Carol Hinshaw is one of the smiling and friendly faces you might see when you visit the hospital’s gift shop. Carol has a great flair for design and keeps the shop looking “ship shape,” as she cheerfully assists customers.
Below Carol shares a little about who she is — and what volunteering brings to her life. Many thanks to Carol for thirteen years of excellent service with ARHS!
I consider myself to be an active person. Working has always been a part of my life and when I look back I have always been involved in something. In 1958, I graduated from Harding High School in Charlotte, NC. I attended Woman’s College (now UNCG) in Greensboro for one year and then King’s College in Charlotte, NC where I earned a degree in Accounting.
After graduation and in the early stages of my career, I married my husband Lee Hinshaw. Lee and I moved to Columbia, SC where we started our family — and I did not work outside the home for 8 years while my children grew up.
In 1983, we moved our family to the High Country and I worked at ASU for 16 years. After retirement, I was looking for something meaningful to do and decided to volunteer at Watauga Medical Center.
Since 2005, I have volunteered under the guidance of three different volunteer coordinators at the hospital.
If someone were to ask me what I like about volunteering at the hospital I would say that it gives me a chance to meet new people and see old friends. In a small community like this, I run into people all the time that I have not seen in years. I would also say that I really do look forward to the routine of going in to volunteer every week. It gives me a sense of purpose. Serving others is very rewarding, of course.
Winston Churchill once said, “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.” And Carol has certainly given a lot to Watauga Medical Center.