Volunteers who dedicate their time to help people without health insurance are recognized for their efforts.
MARQUETTE -- It was a celebration to honor those who have put in hundreds of hours to help those without health insurance.
Individuals and agencies form all across the U.P attended this year's awards ceremony to make sure hard work didn't go unnoticed.
"The whole idea behind this thing is to recognize the people who make our program successful, and the access to health care programs set up across the U.P. are in place for people who are relatively low income and who are not eligible for any state health insurance program and have no health insurance through their employer," said Benjamin Wood, the Executive Director of the U.P. Health Access Coalition.
For the seven people and organizations that received the awards, the reason was very different.
One group of pilots logged over a thousand hours of flight time with their own personal planes to transport patients for medical care that couldn't be issued in the U.P. The awardees are happy to see their hard work pay off.
"It feels wonderful, but it feels more wonderful to know that the Vista members here in UPHAC are in a way also being honored because my office is just the conduit to enable them to be able to serve UPHAC," said Evan Albert, the State Director for the Michigan Corp for National Community Service.
With today's economic state, these eager volunteers have an important role in the community.
"With the state of health care out there right now and the number of people who are uninsured, not only in Michigan, but here in the U.P., there are literally thousands and thousands of people who are in need of some kind of help," Wood said.
There may have only been seven formal awards tonight, but everyone at tonight's ceremony is still a winner.
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