UNC Lenoir recognizes latest Hall of Honor inductees on Saturday, September 18th at Kinston Country Club.
Established in 2000, the Hall of Honor is designed to recognize individuals whose contribution to hospital care in Lenoir County makes them remarkable in some way. Including this year’s class, 118 outstanding citizens have been inducted into the UNC Lenoir Hall of Honor, and 2021 marks the 115th year of hospital care for our community. Six deserving individuals were inducted in the morning ceremony.
A hospital board appointed selection committee considered many deserving candidates but chose those whose level of commitment and dedication:
-have contributed a significant number of years of service to healthcare in Lenoir County.
-have made contributions that exceed those of the vast majority.
-have been extraordinarily critical to the successful delivery of health care to the citizens in our community.
-and through their commitment to healthcare have created a lasting impression.
Dr. Charles H. Classen, Jr. has been a board-certified orthopedic surgeon for 49 years and continues to actively practice medicine at UNC Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Lenoir. He performed the first total hip surgery at Lenoir Memorial Hospital in 1976 and the first arthroscopy in 1980. He has served as President of the Eastern Orthopedic Association as well as for the NC Orthopedic Association where he continues as the Association historian. Of his many accomplishments, teaching and mentoring students is where he has found his most meaningful purpose. His teaching affiliation with ECU has earned him the Outpatient Teacher of the Year every year since 2005.
Mr. Raymond O. Collier, Jr was appointed to the Lenoir Memorial Hospital Board of Directors in January 2003 and was an active member of the board for 17 years. He served as secretary, treasurer, vice chairman, and was elected Chairman of the Board in January 2013. He served in that role until January 2020. During his tenure, he was active on the retirement committee, the nominating committee, the facility committee, the joint conference committee, and the executive committee. As Chairman of the Board, Mr. Collier was instrumental in negotiating the hospital’s affiliation with UNC Health. He was a valuable member of the UNC Lenoir Board of Directors, and UNC Lenoir Health Care has benefitted from his business experience, high ethical standards, leadership, and dedication to the hospital.
Mr. James C. Dobbins, Jr. was recruited by CEO Gary Black in January 1996 to Lenoir Memorial Hospital as the Vice President of Human Resources where he remained until his retirement in March 2020. Jim’s accomplishments were many during his tenure at Lenoir. He guided the accreditation of the oncology program, including the revamp of the Cancer Center and the purchase of the linear accelerator. Jim was instrumental in the startup of the bariatric service line, recruiting two superb bariatric surgeons. Jim was in charge of physician recruiting, helping rebuild the Orthopedic and OB/GYN service lines among many other specialties. All of these accomplishments are outstanding, but many would say his biggest contribution to the hospital was his phenomenal leadership in the area of employee relations. Everything Jim did was driven by his desire to make employees feel valued and appreciated.
Dr. Samuel Gilmore joined the obstetrics and gynecology practice of Dr. Sam Parker in 1975. Kinston OB-GYN was the perfect match for his medical skills, and his early practice years were a time of great change and improvement in the care of maternal patients. Dr.s Gilmore and Mintz introduced colposcopy procedures to evaluate abnormal pap smears. He credits his success as a physician to practicing personalized care and collaborating with the entire healthcare team to better meet patient needs. During his 41 year career, he also worked closely with the Lenoir County Health Department and for Kinston Community Health Center to ensure gynecological services were available to underserved women.
Mrs. Anneliese Hunneke was a hospital volunteer for more than 37 and a half years with nearly 6000 hours. She served primarily in the Day Surgery area every Thursday morning from 6 am until noon. She is remembered fondly by hospital staff for her warm reassurance to patients and families. She and her beloved husband, Fred, were active in every Hospital Foundation event and engaged the community for support and commitment to the hospital. Audra Kite, Volunteer Services Assistant, says that Anneliese was a faithful dedicated volunteer, a silent server, graciously giving of her time and talents without wanting anything in return. Anneliese received the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service in 1994 and 2018. Her last date of volunteer service was in February of 2020, and she died on December 20th, 2020 at the age of 88.
Mrs. Bertha Koonce Moore, RN began her career as a nurse at Lenoir Memorial Hospital in 1974. During much of her career at Lenoir, she served as a staff nurse and nurse manager in the Progressive Care Unit. In 2006, she accepted the position of Director of Nursing. Over the years Bertha has served on many hospital committees including the Nurse Retention Committee and Infection Control Committee. She has helped oversee and implement many projects providing support for the nursing staff and serving as a mentor for young nurses as they begin their careers. Bertha was Lenoir Memorial Hospital Nurse of the Year in 1991 and received the Faye Sugg Nursing Excellence Award in 2019. After 44 years of nursing, Bertha retired in 2018 but continues to serve as an administrative supervisor each week.
