Elks Citizen of the Year

WORLAND - Every year the Worland Elks Lodge picks a person to receive their citizen of the year award and this year they chose Marty Hinkel for her selfless contributions to people in the community and around the world.

Worland Elks Board of Trustees member Marilyn Lane stated that for a person to receive the award, they must be considered an outstanding citizen who is active in the community and helps others. “Marty is one of those people, she is a genuinely nice and caring person,” Lane said.

According to a press release from the Elks, Hinkle is part of the Washakie Hospital Foundation and active with Washakie Leadership. She is always volunteering for many causes, helping people through many organizations. She is a member of Rocky Mountain States Society of American Medical Technologists (AMT) where she has served in all official positions and has served on several of the national boards.

In 2016 Hinkel received the National Medical Technologist of the Year award which is given to only one technologist in the country. According to Hinkel in an earlier interview, “This award is given out once a year; all the different states’ societies can nominate one person. In order to be qualified to be nominated you have to be active at the local, state and national level. You have to have been published, so you have to have had some type of journal or article published in a national publication. I’ve had several articles published in the continuing education journal that AMT has. You have to have lectured or given a workshop or helped on a state and national level. I’ve been a speaker at the national level.”

In 2017, Hinkel, who is the secretary for the Worland Rotary Club, visited several poor villages in Guatemala to inspect the 334 latrines, which had been built to benefit 2,776 people, as the final step in the grant process which provided funding for the latrines. Rotary District 5440 raised $40,000 for the project and the International Rotary Organization matched the amount 1.5 times. While there, she and another rotary member donated $2,500 [Guatemalan currency] worth of school supplies and sports equipment to the village schools.

Hinkel stated in an earlier interview that she is the way she is because of her supportive husband who understands the importance of what she does and because of her father who instilled in her a very strong work ethic.