Chief Birbeck headlines at hospital volunteer convention in San Marcos

The Texas Association of Healthcare Volunteers (TAHV) held their state conference in San Marcos from May 22 through May 24. Volunteers from all over the state got together for educational and networking opportunities. Some attendees gathered on May 21 for early registration and a board meeting. I, Judi Winslow, have been a member of the state board since 2012 and chair the Commu nications Committee and serve as editor of the state newsletter that is published four times a year.

Also attending the conference this year from Olney were Nita Hearne, president of the Olney Hamilton Hospital Auxiliary and Pam Farmer, second vice president. The second and third days were occupied with networking through breakout sessions, one of which is called “BYOI” (Bring Your Own Ideas) where volunteers get together and share vendor information and problems we have at our individual auxiliaries so that we can learn from each other.

The breakout sessions bring speakers from all around Texas and in some cases around the United States. We were especially pleased this year as one of the breakout session speakers was our own Police Chief Dan Birbeck, who shared an Active Shooter Training presentation that he was instrumental in designing. He has presented this training far and wide. It is his passion to help people deal with this very important threatening situation that we hear about in the news regularly. We don’t have to go far to find the need at schools, hospitals, churches, and businesses who need this information. The convention occurred during the first anniversary of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. We were so happy to share Chief Birbeck’s expertise with our volunteers statewide.

The last day was a Uniform Luncheon. All volunteers wear their colorful uniforms, and awards and prizes are given out for the best posters, newsletters, scrapbooks, and tray favors. The officers for 2023-2024 were voted on and sworn in, and we enjoyed a motivational speaker.

Our next TAHV activity will be District Meetings in the fall. Last year, our auxiliary along with the auxiliary in Seymour hosted the District Meeting for the first time and Chief Birbeck presented the Active Shooter Training to attendees.