EMetro Times wishes to recognize Hometown Heroes who go above and beyond to help their neighbors and community. Janet Fortner is a quiet, humble woman who has spent over 8,500 hours helping patients be more comfortable at Rockdale Medical Center.  recently received her 8,500 Hour Pin symbolizing the amount of time she has helped others as a member of the  Rockdale Medical Center Volunteer Auxiliary.  Even more amazing is that while amassing those 8,500 + hours she was also working a full-time job until her retirement in December of 2013. Now, please take out your calculator and follow along with me.  Her 8,500 volunteer hours is the equivalent to you or me helping others for 8 hours every Saturday for the last 20.43 YEARS.  (Go ahead and check…8,500 divided by 8 hrs divided by 52 weeks per year = 20.43).

I recently sat down with Janet and the Information Desk at the East Tower entrance of Rockdale Medical Center (where else?) as she reluctantly agreed to talk about herself.  Janet first started volunteering at the hospital as a “Pink Lady” in 1982.  They were called Pink Ladies because of the pastel pink uniform they wore.  And just to keep things straight…Rizzo and Frenchie in the movie “Grease” were entirely different “Pink Ladies”.

Janet told me “When my daughter graduated I decided it was time to start helping others.  I was working full-time at the Kysor-Warren refrigeration plant when I started at the hospital.  I would leave work at 4:30 pm and would help out for 5:00 – 8:00 every Thursday night”.  “I worked on the second and third floors where I would push around the little cart and offer the patients juice, graham crackers and a newspaper.  Beasley’s Drug Store would supply everyone a free paper” she said.  “When Kysor-Warren left town I went to work for the State of Georgia at the Department of Driver Services and just retired in December of 2013.  Now I have time to volunteer 3 days a week”.

When asked about the most rewarding part of volunteering Janet said “ I love helping others and the camaraderie with the other Volunteer Auxiliary members”.  Although things have changed a lot over the last 32 years for the volunteers, the women and men now where Royal blue, Janet’s passion to help others has never changed.  So the next time you are at Rockdale Medical Center be sure to thank all the men and women in blue who volunteer to make your visit or stay a little easier.

Janet is a member of Almon Baptist Church and has one daughter and two grandsons who live in Monticello, GA.

For information about volunteering at Rockdale Medical Center please contact Kathy Methier at 770-918-3007 or Email her at [email protected]