Barb Phelps, SHIIP/SMP Counselor with Henry County Health Center, will receive a Governor’s Volunteer Award. Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Adam Gregg will personally announce awardees during a special recognition ceremony held on June 25th (2pm-5pm) at Ankeny High School (1155 SW Cherry St, Ankeny, IA 50023).
Barb will be honored with a 5-year service award by Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) and Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP). Since 2019, Barb has completed 790 Counseling Appointments appointments and spent more than 764 hours providing guidance to individuals, families, and caregivers on how to navigate their Medicare and identify plans and resources that work for them.
“Iowans take great pride in their deep and rich commitment for serving others—it’s in our DNA,” Gov. Reynolds said. “Iowa nice is the foundation of our state–you see it everywhere you turn– Iowans volunteering their time to help others and improve their communities and our state. It truly is an honor to be able to recognize these individuals for their meaningful acts of generosity through the Governor’s Volunteer Awards and inspire others to do the same.”
Kristin Griffith, SHIIP-SMP Director, shares “SHIIP-SMP Counselors are some of the best volunteers and people you could ever work with. They care deeply about their community members, and consistently go above and beyond to provide unbiased and trustworthy information helping individuals and their families navigate the complexity of Medicare.”
Kirsten Heerdt, Volunteer Services and SHIIP Site Coordinator at HCHC, also shared her congratulations – stating, “Barb is a delight to work with and has made a huge impact on her clients by saving them thousands of dollars in medication costs.”
Coordinated by Volunteer Iowa, the Governor’s Volunteer Award program—now in its 40th year—provides an easy way for Iowa nonprofits, charitable organizations, and government entities to honor their volunteers with a prestigious, state-level award. A complete list of award recipients and an electronic copy of this news release are available at volunteeriowa.org