Tuthill fits the bill
Lynn Tuthill (Brody School of Medicine) is an active volunteer with District 65 of the State Employees Association of North Carolina. Above, she displays the District of the Year award presented to the district. (Contributed photo)
By Judy Currin
Wanted: Individual possessing practically unlimited reserves of energy, a willingness to sacrifice untold hours of time in service to the community and a creative flair for documenting history in scrapbook format.
Position filled: by Lynn Tuthill, a remittance specialist in the Clinical Financial Services Department for the Brody School of Medicine, who applies her energy, time and creativity toward her volunteer work for District 65 in the State Employees Association of North Carolina.
Tuthill serves SEANC as a board member and volunteer action chair/historian. Her scrapbook – a yearly compilation of the organization’s activities – is more aptly described as a tome. Bulging to approximately four inches thick, the book is chockfull of news clippings, meeting minutes, flyers, board member profiles and awards, along with page after page of photographs, taken by Tuthill during district activities.
“We are a pretty busy group of volunteers,” said Tuthill, a second year inductee into ECU’s Servire Society.
A quick glance at the scrapbook makes it clear. This group has worked hard to earn the many honors they have received, including the District of the Year for 2008-2009 and for 2009-2010.
Leafing through the initial pages of the scrapbook, one might see photographic documentation of the group’s participation in Pitt County’s Relay for Life, an overnight event that celebrates the lives of those who have battled cancer and remembers loved ones lost.
“We raised approximately $7,000 for the American Cancer Society,” said Tuthill. She said the district has had a team in the Pitt County Relay for more than 15 years, raising approximately $50,000 altogether.
Farther along in the scrapbook, photos appear from the annual golf tournament, which raises funds for SEANC’s scholarship program. “Every year, our organization provides $50,000 in scholarship grants for members and their dependents statewide,” Tuthill said. “Locally, we provide a total of $1,500.”
Scrapbook pages also document the election of new officers, membership drives, lobbying activities, luncheons, meetings, training, and donations to families. Special emphasis is given to volunteer work for the Children’s Miracle Network Celebration broadcast, which provides equipment and services for sick and injured children and their families, and Habitat for Humanity, which constructs affordable homes in an effort to eliminate poverty.
In December, page after page illustrates the group’s numerous efforts to help families in need. As part of their holiday activities, Tuthill said, the group decorates miniature Christmas trees each year for a local nursing home and participates in the Club Rudolph program through the Greenville Community Shelter, which helps families needing assistance.
“Each year we adopt two children,” Tuthill said. “The district donates $150.00 per child towards the purchase of Christmas gifts from their wish list.”
Of all the pages in the book, Tuthill finds the Relay for Life images the most compelling. That event is “closest to my heart,” she said. “Cancer has taken several people who were close to me. I pray and hope one day in my lifetime, they will find a cure.”
As evidenced by her arduous work on the scrapbook, Tuthill always applies her best efforts to the work for SEANC District 65. Debbie Austin, SEANC treasurer and scholarship chair, said, “Lynn goes above and beyond what is needed for all the projects she does.”
“Her vision is to take any cause and make it a success for the greater good.”
SEANC is a 55,000-member association committed to protecting and enhancing the rights and benefits of current, retired and future state employees. Local members meet on the third Tuesday of every month at Lakeside Annex 1. Tuthill encourages all ECU employees to attend meetings and join a district that thrives on giving back to the community.
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The SEANC scrapbook illustrates many hours of volunteer efforts completed through the organization. As SEANC historian, Tuthill puts the book together. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)