The Austin Medical Center Gift and Coffee Shop is a cheery place to relax when you are visiting loved ones at the hospital.

Volunteers of the hospital auxiliary run it. The president of the 149-member auxiliary is Marilyn Wilson. She was installed last fall at their annual board of directors meeting.

"I got involved with the hospital auxiliary when I went on a two-week bus trip to New England. On the trip was Lucille Moore. She was in charge of the hospital gift shop at the time. She convinced me to become an auxiliary member," said Wilson, who is a retired bookkeeper for the Mower County Health Service.

Wilson enjoys her title as president as she has so much support from the rest of the members.

Jean Dykeman coordinates the work schedule for the coffee shop. She manages the coffee shop and is on duty part time, three days a week.

The gift and coffee shop are open five days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fresh homemade food is on the menu every day.

"We have good cooks here. Everything is good. Today we have two homemade soups, glorified rice salad and lasagna and toast. People visiting friends and relatives like to stop in for coffee at the shop," Wilson said.

Three or four auxiliary members run the gift and coffee shop at a time. Hospital staff, friends, other auxiliary members stop to say hello and chat.

This is a busy, friendly place. Auxiliary members help out at the main desk in the hospital too. Anyone can be an auxiliary member.

"We are trained for whatever position we volunteer for. We have to know the privacy rules of the hospital, cleanliness and know what to do in case there is a fire. Lucille Moore and Ursula Callahan are two members that have been on the auxiliary longer than anyone else," Wilson said.

The auxiliary is made up of a president, two vice presidents, a secretary and a treasurer. There are 12 members on the board of directors. The second vice president keeps track of volunteers hours. Pins are awarded each year to members that have reached goals of 100 to 500 hours of service or more

"It's rewarding to see people at the hospital and help them. Even if you only tell they which way to go or just give someone a smile," said Wilson.

Besides the gift shop and helping at the front desk the auxiliary gifted $40,000 to enhance the mammography machine last year.

New members are always needed on the hospital auxiliary. If you are interested in being a part of this group stop at the front desk of the hospital or call Wilson at 433-5507 or Joann Jensen at 433-9562.

Sheila Donnelly can be reached at 434-2233 or by e-mail at newsroom@austindailyherald.com