HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE -- The Rotary Club of Hot Springs Village heard a report from Rotarian Connie Shoemaker about the club's participation at this year's Arkansas Mission of Mercy. At ArMOM, hundreds of dental professionals and volunteers meet at a different location around the state each year to provide services free of charge for Arkansans of all ages who do not have insurance or the means to pay for dental care.
This year, ArMOM was held at the Conway Expo Center. More than 2,000 people attended. Dental professionals at the various ArMOM work stations served the patients, many of whom had waited in line outside overnight to get in.
Along with Dr. Kristi Gipe Golden of Plaza Carmona Dental Associates in the Village, members of HSV Rotary served in volunteer positions such as hospitality, patient escorts, pediatric helpers, registration, set-up and takedown.
Shoemaker coordinated her fellow club members for this year's event. Although volunteers generally sign up for a four-hour shift on the day of their choice, Rotarian Spence Jordan worked all day every day. Another volunteer, Melanie Pederson, said she "had such a great experience, that has already signed up to serve at next year's event, to be held in Springdale."
Rotary membership is open to all men and women, with guests welcome at the Hot Springs Village club, which meets in the Fireside Dining Room at Good Sam's, 121 Cortez Road, at 7 a.m. Thursdays.
Society on 07/21/2018