Special to the Town Crier
At the seventh annual El Camino Hospital Annual General Membership Meeting and Luncheon in May, Los Altos resident Judy Van Dyck was elected 1995-96 Auxiliary president. She succeeds Francette Hawkins, who served as president for the past two years.
Van Dyck said she believes the Auxiliary's challenges in the coming year all revolve around what she calls "the big C-word," or "change."
"Change is to make different, or to alter," she explained. "This can be very threatening, and may cause lack of trust, misunderstandings and chaos. My goal is to keep the Auxiliary focused on caring, which is why we're here. I believe we can be a source of hope and calm through the work we do."
Van Dyck has a long history with the Auxiliary. She began volunteering at El Camino Hospital in January 1962. In 1967, she took time off to raise her family. When her husband, Walter Van Dyck, M.D., a Sunnyvale Medical Clinic obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) for 27 years, died in 1988, she decided to volunteer once again.
"I felt comfortable in the medical field and wanted to get out in the community again," she said. "To be honest, I feel I get more out of volunteering than I give."
Van Dyck said her personal goal in the coming year is to remain positive and help motivate Auxiliary members.
"A friend told me that you can't have a rainbow without a storm and cloud," she said. "To me, the storm and cloud represent change. If the Auxiliary joins hands, I know we can be that rainbow."
Van Dyck's son Brian, 30, lives in San Jose; and her son Dan, 32, lives in Cardiff by the Sea.