Orono woman receives volunteer honor

BANGOR – Hospice of Eastern Maine, a program of Bangor Area Visiting Nurses, presented Johneen Eckardt with its highest volunteer honor, the Patricia Jameson Award, at its annual appreciation dinner. The Jameson Award for volunteer excellence was given to Eckardt in recognition of the exceptional service she provided a hospice patient and his family in 2006.

Since becoming a HOEM volunteer in November 2004, Eckardt has served five patients. In 2006 she logged 212 hours of volunteer service with HOEM.

In addition to providing significant hours of patient and family care, she undertook an independent study of Alzheimer’s disease, attended four conferences and seven volunteer support meetings, participated in HOEM’s annual memorial service, and led a team at the Hospice-Pathfinders Celebrity Dessert Auction last November.

Eckardt learned a lot about care giving growing up in her family’s home in California. By the time she was in high school, she was caring for her mother who was blind, and her grandmother. Through this personal experience she developed a deep love for people with disabilities and patience on par with Job’s.

Orono has been home to Eckardt and her husband Mike for the past three years. They are the parents of three adult sons who have earned advanced college degrees. Each of their sons shares Eckardt’s commitment to making their community a better place by contributing time and talent, a legacy she modeled and nurtured.

While Eckardt is not inclined to speak about herself, her friend Moira Worboys said, “Johneen is a sincere, practical, straightforward woman with a great sense of humor. She is at ease with herself and makes others feel at ease. She is a great listener and helps bring ‘the real person’ out of her contacts. She is unimpressed by rank. She means what she says and is very appreciative of others for their strengths and differences. She is a wonderful, honest friend who is always interested in new experiences.”

The Patricia Jameson Award for Hospice Volunteer Excellence was established in honor of an exceptional woman who, after four years of serving patients and families as a hospice volunteer, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. After her diagnosis, she continued to volunteer with hospice patients until she was no longer able to do so. She then became a recipient of hospice services.