Alphin named Volunteer of Year
Published 10:33 am Friday, June 1, 2012
BY BRIAN WHITT/Contributing Writer
bmwhitt@mail.roanoke.edu
Western Tidewater Free Clinic Executive Director Miriam Beiler, left, congratulates Debra Alphin for being chosen as one of two Volunteers of the Year for the clinic. -- SUBMITTED/ALYSON MILES MILESTONES PHOTOGRAPHY
SUFFOLK—A Carrsville woman who at 50 graduated from nursing school was one of two named Volunteers of the Year for the Western Tidewater Free Clinic in Suffolk.
Debra Alphin insists she receives much more than she gives and was grateful for the recognition.
“I was very surprised,” Alphin said about receiving the award during a recent ceremony at the Planters Club in Suffolk.
The other recipient was June Rice of Suffolk, also a nurse at the clinic, which provides free health and dental care to low-income residents in Suffolk, Franklin, and Southampton and Isle of Wight counties.
The clinic’s 240 volunteers nominated fellow volunteers for the honor.
“The award is a big honor given yearly to volunteers who go above and beyond what is expected of them in the line of duty,” said Volunteer Coordinator Vicki Butler.
Alphin said she thoroughly enjoys her work at the clinic, where she has volunteered for a little over two years. She gets a deep feeling of satisfaction from helping others.
The 54-year-old mother of three graduated from Obici School of Nursing in Suffolk four years ago and worked at Obici Hospital. Now she volunteers at the clinic and works on the family farm with her husband, Rex, an Isle of Wight County supervisor.
The clinic operates on grants and donations. If interested in donating or becoming a patient, visit www.wtfreeclinic.org.
