Established in 1979, the North Carolina Governor’s Volunteer Service Award honors the true spirit of volunteerism in individuals and groups who make a significant contribution to their community through volunteer service. Individuals or groups from the public, nonprofit and private sectors may be nominated for this award. This year’s winners include one ECU Health team member, Jennifer Congleton, and two ECU Health Medical Center volunteers, Mattox Piscorik and Deborah Coleman.
Jennifer Congleton
Jennifer Congleton grew up volunteering.
“My family owned small businesses and were connected to our community. We always volunteered and gave back,” she said. “It wasn’t new to me.”
The East Carolina University (ECU) graduate said during her time in college she continued to find many ways to serve others.
“I was the ECU Women’s Residence Council president, I joined the SGA and I was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, where I started a global volunteer experience,” she said. “I had a passion for making a difference in my little part of the world.”
Jennifer initially wanted to work in health care as a nurse, but with her interest in community, she thought it would be a better fit to work in public health.
“I earned my degree in public health, and my graduate degree is in adult education with a concentration in community college systems,” she said. “I felt this bridged the gap between volunteerism and my profession, because I want to do what I can to make our community better.”
While working as the director of admissions for Beaufort County Community College in Washington, North Carolina, Jennifer saw a job listing for a coordinator of allied health education. “I hadn’t thought about working at a hospital, but they wanted someone with an undergraduate degree in public health and a master’s in adult education,” she said. “That was me.”
Jennifer now serves as the director of chaplaincy and volunteer services at the ECU Health Medical Center.
“My current role allows me to help grow volunteers and put them in places where they can find future jobs. We direct them to places where their gifts can be used,” she said. “Volunteers serve as a pipeline. We have many who come here to volunteer and end up working here. We’ve had college students volunteer and then they go to medical school and come back as physicians. Volunteering is a great way to explore jobs while giving back.”
Giving back continues to be a big part of Jennifer’s life. Before her most recent recognition, she was the 2015 Volunteer of the Year at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, she was elected as the 19th Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for 2018 – 2022 and in 2022, she was honored with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award for state service granted by the Office of the Governor.
Despite her past recognitions, Jennifer was surprised to learn she had won a Governor’s Volunteer Service Award.
“I had no idea I had been nominated,” she said. “I was shocked. I have been in the working world for almost 40 years, and I thought this was a great way to recognize my career. But you can’t rest on your laurels.”
Mattox Piscorik
Mattox Piscorik began his service at ECU Health as a VolunTeen, first at ECU Health Medical Center and then at ECU Health Beaufort Hospital, where he transported patients, worked in the emergency department and greeted people in the hospital lobby.
Service in health care came naturally to him; Mattox comes from a long line of health care practitioners, including his mother, an ECU Health nurse, and his two brothers, both pursuing careers in health care fields. “We are heavily involved in service in our family,” he said. “We believe in taking care of others as we want to be treated.”
After his work as a VolunTeen, and his graduation from high school this past spring, Mattox joined the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) in June as an adult volunteer.
“I stock supplies in rooms and make sure all patients and their families are comfortable. The CVICU can be a high-stress environment,” he said. “I also assist with patient transport, and I sometimes help with scanning or faxing to help the nurse manager. I have loved every minute of it.”
Work in the CVICU is even more meaningful to Mattox because his father was once a patient there after having open heart surgery. “To work with some of the same people who cared for him is super special,” he said.
The experience has also inspired Mattox to make a change in his career plans.
“I started off wanting to be an emergency department doctor,” he said. “After being a VolunTeen, I changed my plans and decided to pursue health care administration. But after working on the CVICU, I have decided I’m going to nursing school.”
Mattox is currently attending ECU in the Honors College and plans to apply for nursing school next fall. “The end goal is to get a job in the CVICU,” he shared.
Mattox said he was shocked to learn he’d won a Governor’s Volunteer Service Award.
“I was stunned when I got the email from Chad Tucker,” he said. “I was also honored and humbled to know that my years of hard work and dedication had paid off. I am driven by the belief that small acts of care can lead to big changes, and I’m eager to learn and grow in a field that truly makes an impact.”
Deborah Coleman
Deborah Coleman joined the ECU Health volunteer team with her husband’s and Jennifer Congleton’s encouragement.
“My husband was working as a volunteer before me, and he said I’d enjoy it. Jennifer also kept asking me to volunteer, and I kept telling her no,” Deborah said. “Then one day I changed my mind, and I’ve been doing it ever since. I enjoy it.”
“I met Deborah through my mother,” Jennifer shared. “When I realized Deborah was retired, I told her about the world of volunteering at the medical center and how she could make a difference. Deborah is full of compassion, and we need more like her.”
Deborah works as a patient escort, and she likes meeting different people.
“I take them to different areas of the hospital for screenings or tests, or I take them out after they’re discharged. It’s nice to meet people. Even if they’re grumpy, I tell them, ‘Today is a good day! Smile because God has blessed you to be here.’ I like to make them feel better.”
