Linda Baynes was presented with the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award at Chariton Area Chamber/Main Street’s Annual Celebration on Tuesday, June 13 at Carpenter’s Hall.
Chariton Area Chamber/Main Street’s Lifetime Achievement Award is not given every year. The award is given to someone who has performed outstanding service and accomplishment and has a long-term impact on the community.
Linda Baynes is an advocate of Chariton and believes one person can make a difference. This Lucas County native has served the community their entire life in many capacities. She has a big heart, spends the majority of their time giving to others and caring for those in our community.
Author H. Jackson Brown shared instructions for life, writing, “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” With that in mind, Linda Baynes should be the happiest person in our community. For more than 40 years, Linda has devoted herself to the betterment of the world in which she lives. Linda is soon to retire as the Volunteer Services manager at Lucas County Health Center in Chariton, a position she has held for approximately 20 years. But those who know Linda well know that her work is just an extension of her life and her philosophy that we are indeed our brothers’ keepers.
It is no exaggeration to state Linda has served on nearly every committee in Chariton and Lucas County. From the Human Resource Exchange Council, to Area Agency on Aging, to the Fourth of July Committee to decades of service on Chariton Area Chamber Main Street, Linda excels at getting things done with others. She motivates, inspires and sweet-talks others into accomplishing the goals of each organization. She works tirelessly to improve the lives of those around her.
Additionally, Linda works quietly behind the scenes with individuals. Countless local residents find their way to Linda for help with their most basic needs. Linda balances checkbooks, manages expenses, shops for clothing, finds less expensive living quarters, and helps so many find their way to medical appointments. Linda often provides necessities – and the little extras that make life a little sweeter – from her own pocket. She goes about these endeavors without fanfare, quietly improving the lives of others.
Linda is richly blessed with loyal and devoted friends, a loving family, and a job that she loves. Her entire life is a testament to the simple adage that helping others makes the world go ‘round.
Linda has been a leader at Lucas County Health Center and has made a tremendous impact on our healthcare community and on the lives of thousands of volunteers and patients. Her compassion and dedication can be seen through her volunteers, the numerous community organizations of which she is a member, and her desire to improve our community.
Additionally, Linda oversees the local LifeLine Personal Response service and our Senior Health Insurance Information Program. She actively works to ensure that the volunteers who assist with these programs are knowledgeable and that these programs are widely known and available to our community. With Linda’s guidance, these programs continue to be a necessary (and successful) resource for the senior community members and their loved ones.
Linda exudes volunteerism. As a well-established and recognized name within our community, she is sought out by many and although she works all day to recruit volunteers for LCHC, her responsibilities don’t end when she walks out the door at night. As a member of several organizations/committees, including Kiwanis, Lucas County Arts Council, Chariton Area Chamber/Main Street, Lucas County Tourism, Healthy Partnership of Lucas County, Human Resource Exchange Council, Back to School Resource Fair Committee, Fourth of July Committee, Chariton Valley Players, Central Iowa Tourism Region and a member of First United Methodist Church Church, Linda dedicates much of her “spare” time to working as a volunteer herself.
Linda is a shining example of what it means to “talk the talk and walk the walk.” She not only understands the important role volunteers play for the health center and our community, but wholeheartedly believes that everyone has something to offer the world. She knows that volunteers are a valuable asset to our community and that our community and facility would not be the same without them.
Congratulations, Linda, and thank you for everything you have done for our facility and the community in the past, present, and future!