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MCRC Hall of Fame Class of 2015

Morgantown Care and Rehabilitation Center inducted seven recipients into its Hall of Fame Café on Thursday night, October 15, at the new fellowship hall of First Baptist Church in Morgantown. Inductees included residents Ernest Board (In Memoriam), James Hunter, and Joyce Annis (former resident), stakeholders Ina Johnson, Helen Phelps, and Carol Johnson, and community volunteer Garry McKinney. 

Rev. Derek Cain, MCRC Chaplin and pastor of Salem Baptist Church, served as emcee of the event.

Former State Representative Woody Allen presented each inductee with a Kentucky Colonel certificate. 

Musical entertainment was provided by Sonya King, who sang You are the Wind Beneath My Wings, and the First Baptist Church Bell Ringers.


 Jim Green, founder of Building Bridges 4Life, was the guest speaker and reminded everyone that “Today Matters.”
“At MCRC today truly matters, as they focus on their residents.  They call their hallways neighborhoods, they provide learning experiences, fashion shows, parties and dances, singings almost every day, and dream vacation for residents. MCRC is a dream booster for residents.
According to Green, MCRC has truly redefined volunteering, “I call it the Shirley Allen’s Army of over 200-plus people that volunteer at MCRC.”
“MCRC is a place where the employees do all the little things correctly. The residents recognized four things that are big to them, “They check on me and know I am here, they laugh with me, they listen to me as I share things with them, and they pray with me.”
“The inductees are my "hometown heroes;" they have made a difference and added value to those around them,” said Green

A video of each inductee's life was shown during the induction.

Carol Johnson

For thirty-two years Carol Johnson has faithfully served Morgantown Care & Rehabilitation Center as a loyal and dedicated Certified Nursing Assistant CAN, although at first she did not know if she could make it. Carol is very proud of her family. Married to Durl for forty-nine years, they have raised two wonderful daughters, Tina and Linda, which have given them four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Her family she says, “I love them.” and “The girls at work get tired of me telling them all about the great-grandbabies. They just make me smile.” One of Carol’s interests and contributions to the community over the years has been her involvement with Bluegrass music and dancing. Together with her husband they loved going to three or four dances a week. For a long time now Carol has been involved with the Monroe Foundation by volunteering her time and efforts at the annual Bluegrass Festival in Rosine, Kentucky. She proudly supports her husband as he performs by selling tickets and welcoming guests to the festival. This dancing has also benefited the residents of Morgantown Care & Rehab over the years as Carol, her husband, and other dancers would perform at the facility. Shirley Allen would get them all to come and play music and dance. She said of the experience, “It was really fun!” And when they would dance with residents she told her husband, “Whatever you do you hold on to them.” Carol reminisces how they just had the best times dancing with residents, even if they sat in the chair and danced they had a great time. Carol has not always worked in long term care. For eighteen years she worked for Kowdens, a sewing factory in Ohio County. There she worked for years sewing pockets and was eventually promoted to become an internal auditor. When that company closed Carol was looking for new work. She knew there were openings at Morgantown Care & Rehabilitation Center but she did not think she could handle it because as she said, “I have a weak stomach.” Despite this she started on Saturday, October 15, 1983. Everyone told her when she started that if she could last three days then she could make it. Those three days passed along with thirty-two years of excellent clinical care. Carol really enjoys working with all the residents and of her peers. She said, “They’re just like family. They care about you here.” She said that throughout the day she spends a lot of time with elders and fellow stakeholders just catching up with what’s going on in their lives. It is one of the things that she enjoys a lot about being a Restorative CNA. She said, “You don’t have as many residents to tend to and so you get to spend more quality time with the residents you see. I feel like as a Restorative CNA, I get to do my very best with them and that encourages them to do as much as they can do – giving their very best.” Carol Johnson truly has a heart for seeing residents improve and do better.

Ernest Boards

Ernest Board was truly a treasured member of our Morgantown Care & Rehab family. He had been a resident here for nearly 30 years and had acquired a vast following within our community—based on his many talents and his phenomenal memory. Ernest was born and raised in Grayson County, Kentucky and lived a full and active life on the family farm with his sister Elaine. Ernest needed clinical care early in his life and so on November 23, 1985 he came to our facility. He has always kept ties to his home community though. He loved going to Mt. Hebron Church and learned a lot of his Christian values there and from his family. He religiously kept in touch with the congregation at Mt. Hebron over the years through visits and cards. He loved sending and receiving cards better than any gift was a personal card written to Ernest with your name and address on it. One of Ernest’s amazing abilities was being able to calculate numbers. And he had incredible knowledge of calendars and dates and could even tell someone the day of the week they were born on based on the date. He could remember birthdays and anniversaries and license plate numbers with ease and he would remind staff and visitors of their own family members’ birthdays. It was no wonder then that Ernest had interest and expertise in using computers. He kept databases of names of people he had met and of his friends back home. He would review these names and dates and information meticulously, sure to remember it all. In the last years of his life he really enjoyed his Kindle. The interactive games and connectivity it gave him to the world was really important for him. Socializing with all the staff, residents, and visitors at our facility was one of Ernest’s favorite things. He also loved vintage cars and would often have posters in his room and slideshow of vintage cars playing on his computer. Ernest would anxiously await church programs at MCRC and all the visitors that would come; especially those from Cool Springs and Oak Ridge. One of the last prayers his friend Shirley Allen prayed with him resulted in his loud “Amen.” Ernest Board was a rare and special individual who created an indelible impression on everyone who met him and subsequently will never be forgotten by those who loved him.

Garry McKinney
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” - Colossians 3:23-24. Garry McKinney has faithfully served our community for many years and is an awesome witness of “working for the Lord” by serving others. Most people know McKinney as the Director of the Morgantown Mission, an inter-denominational organization devoted to helping those in need. McKinney, who first served as a volunteer and on the board of directors before taking the position, is a bright and shining example of hospitality and benevolent love in the Butler County area. Previous to his experience as the director of the mission McKinney managed and opened various grocery stores and supermarkets throughout Kentucky. He had a reputation in his company and throughout the state as an honest and compassionate man who had a burden for people who do not have much and are often neglected. His retail training has helped him greatly in working with people; sometimes difficult people. But need and suffering can often make people difficult. McKinney has had his own share of suffering that has shaped and formed his outlook on ministry. After the tragic loss of his son in the late 1990s and the diagnosis of a serious personal medical condition he knew that his life had purpose. After all that tragedy he felt like God was keeping him here for a reason. He had already been on the board of the Mission and could see the benefit of the Mission in the community. A verse of scripture that has guided him has been, “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” While McKinney is involved in the day-to-day operations of the store at the Mission, and is responsible for the utility and housing assistance, his favorite part of ministry is what they do for children. On Tuesday nights they serve a hot meal to children, kindergarten through 12th grade and have a bible school type program for them. McKinney has a soft spot for the children who are helped by the Mission’s programs. “I love the children,” he said. “I enjoy talking to them about Jesus, and seeing them become active in church. It means a lot to me when they come back and tell me what our help has meant to them.” There are few people who have had a greater impact on our community than Garry McKinney. He is a part of group of unsung heroes of public service that often don’t get the recognition that they deserve. We say thank you to Garry McKinney for all the ways in which he serves our community that we know of, and the so many ways he serves that we will never know.

Helen Phelps
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” Never has a scripture befitted a Hall of Fame inductee more. Helen Phelps was born Helen Edwards on October 30th, 1954 in Somerset, KY to parents Herman and Vena Edwards. She has one brother, Richard and one sister, Ann and is the youngest of her siblings. She attended two years of Somerset Community College and received a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in social work at Western Kentucky University. Helen put her compassionate nature and listening ear to work by becoming a crisis intervention counselor for three years. She met the love of her life, Richard Phelps, in November of 1975 and they married in May of 1977. Through this union Helen gained a wonderful husband as well as a wonderful son, Jerry. In time they were also blessed with son Ricky and wife Lesley, daughter Suzanne and husband Justin, and youngest daughter Rebecca and husband Dustin. But that was just the beginning. Rounding out this close knit group are grandchildren and the most precious gifts that the Lord ever blessed this family with: Emma, Rylee, Jaxon and Kason. Family is an important part of Helen’s life; her pride and joy. When she is not working for her church, our facility, or sharing her giving nature with the world you can find Helen spending joyous time with her grandchildren. Helen is an active member of Abundant Life Pentecostal Church where she has shared the word of the Lord with her Sunday school class for over 10 years. Helen’s walk with God is a vital part of her everyday life. Helen began working at Morgantown Care & Rehab in 2001 and has been a valuable member of our team for over 13 years. Our facility has benefited from her expertise in several departments. Whether she is meeting and greeting new admissions and families during the admissions process, putting discharge charts together in Medical Records, escorting with elders to doctor’s appointments, handling grievances in Social Services or putting her creativity to work in the Quality of Life department, Helen always gives 110% to all she does. Often called upon to conduct spontaneous activities, Helen’s laughter and booming voice can be heard throughout the halls. One of Helen’s favorite past times includes cooking and often the stakeholders and elders of Morgantown Care & Rehab benefit from this love. From delicious desserts to hearty, filling dishes, it’s agreed upon by one and all that Helen is a great cook. When she is not whipping up fabulous culinary creations she also enjoys reading, playing scrabble and short day trips with her husband. Always quick to smile, full of kind words, filled with a compassionate heart, sharing of her heartfelt prayers, Helen Phelps is a true treasure to Morgantown Care & Rehabilitation Center.

Ina Johnson
“If every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it, then autograph your work with excellence.” Excellence and hard work have never been foreign concepts to Ina Johnson. Ina Johnson was born in Anderson, Indiana on August 4th, 1949. Her parents are Hova Moss and Hester Goolsby Moss. She has seven siblings including four brothers and three sisters. She was raised in Elwood, Indiana where she attended Wendel L. Wilkie High School. Ina married Kimble Johnson on March 4th, 1970 and their union has been blessed with five children; four daughters and one son; daughter Angela Williams and husband Robert, daughter Shezelle Scholl and husband Joe, daughter Kelly Roland and husband David, daughter Sonya King and husband Ronald, and son Jeffery Johnson and wife Lakrisha. Her family has grown over the years and now consists of 19 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. Serving the Lord and sharing the word is always first and foremost in Ina’s life. While living in Arkansas Ina and Kimbel often sang in church and performed outreach and volunteer work in their community. In their ministry for the Lord they opened two independent Pentecostal churches. Ina was also a Sunday school and Bible school teacher. Ina has shared her love of music with her family and has often been heard singing the hymns of the Lord to our elders. Whether it’s playing the piano, strumming on a guitar or making a joyful noise with a tambourine the Johnson family is definitely a musical favorite with our facility. Ina has performed many jobs here at Morgantown Care and Rehabilitation Center in her 19 years. She began her career in the Dietary department serving up meals to our elders where she was often asked to slow down so that her coworkers could keep up with her. A bundle of energy going 90 miles an hour, Ina works tirelessly in all she does. She has also brought this energy into the housekeeping and laundry department where she strives to make our facility shine. She is most proud of knowing the Lord as her Savior and enjoying the love of her friends and family who mean so much to her. Hard work, dedication, dependability and loyalty truly describe all that is Ina Johnson.

James Hunter
“...It is a proud privilege to be a soldier – a good soldier … [with] discipline, self-respect, pride in his unit and his country, a high sense of duty and obligation to comrades and to his superiors, and a self-confidence born of demonstrated ability.” - George S. Patton Jr.

James Hunter, 89, is a kind and distinguished man from Leitchfield, Kentucky. His large family consisted of four brothers and four sisters; now only he and one sister in Louisville survive. James joined the U.S. Navy at age 17 and served for two years. While stationed in Puerto Rico he began working for the FBI and continued when he moved to Washington D.C. There he trained clerks in filing security documents for 10 years. He loved flying airplanes and developed this passion in his private life. At age 47 he was able to marry the woman of his dreams, Waneda. Together they forged a life together—spending time fishing, gardening, and supporting University of Kentucky basketball. Unfortunately, their time became limited when she developed cancer. James was her devoted caregiver; cooking three meals a day for her and tending to her needs until she passed away. James’s community involvement has included his relationships with the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization. Five Bronze Stars adorn his uniform and in 2014 he was named the Veteran of the Year by the Green River Chapter of the National Society for the Daughters of the American Revolution. Since coming to MCRC James has rekindled an interest in bingo and socializing with his many friends. He recently was able to listen to a live performance of the Glenn Miller Orchestra and it was a highlight of not only his time here at our facility but of his entire life! He cherishes his time with family. His nieces and their beautiful children visit often—sharing time, pictures, and love. We are all so proud to know James Hunter and the incredibly kind and good man he is. Respectfully we salute and honor this great American veteran and the important and valuable role he has in our community.

Joyce Annis
You would be hard pressed to find a sweeter and harder working person than Joyce Annis. Born in the Bryant Ridge area of Butler County, she has made her life and raised her family here in our community. She has been married to her husband David for 54 years and their children are her pride and joy. Martha, Sarah, [Cindy], and Bradley have also given Joyce seven grandchildren to love. Fifty-four years of marriage and 54 years of faithful service to Morgantown Church of Christ, Joyce has been the very embodiment of a servant of God through the countless meals she has prepared for the church and for those who have been sick. Joyce’s only foray into the workforce was early in her marriage when she worked for four years as a cook at the high school. When she became pregnant with her first child she decided to stay home and continue working as a mother and wife. For much of her life Joyce has been involved in the Butler County Extension Homemaker Association where she has had the opportunity to learn about all kinds of issues that concern today’s families. Over the years Joyce has developed skills and learned about nutrition and health, financial management, environmental stewardship, youth development, personal and family living, and global and international issues. Joyce has been a leader in our community with her involvement in the Big Bend Rural Development Club and also by serving as an election poll sheriff. Through her involvement with these organizations and with her church Joyce has supported all kinds of good works in our community by volunteering her time and giving money to help our community. Some of Joyce’s favorite pastimes include: crocheting, cross-stitch, quilting, and cooking delicious meals and dishes. She is most proud of her husband David and her four children and seven grandchildren. When asked what makes her proud of all these people in her life Joyce said, “How they are so faithful and loving to each other.”

Amy Phelps, MCRC Adminstrator
Resident Jean Hazelip read the poem Hometown Hero.  Amy Phelps, MCRC administrator, thanked everyone for their attendance and congratulated the inductees. Phelps commented that this was her first Hall of Fame ceremony and she was very impressed and honored to be a part of MCRC.

 Refreshments were served including a variety of finger foods, a chocolate fountain, and a variety of cakes.

MCRC extended a very specail thanks to First Baptist Church, Mike Ingram, Woody Allen, Jim Green, Butler County High School NJROTC, Green River Association of Baptists, First Baptist Bell Ringer and all the MCRC team members who assisted in making the induction ceremony successful.

The idea of the Hall of Fame Café started in 2003 when Signature Health was trying to find ways in which the importance of lifetime achievements, particularly as it applies to individual’s living in today’s nursing and rehabilitation centers, could be recognized.  As the program grew, the recognition of dedicated stakeholders and distinguished community members have now become a part of the honorary recognition.

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