WONDERFUL HONORS

     One of the joys of my long media life is reporting great things about good Boone connected people.
     I have a couple such items to mention today, items that will be lucky to find themselves in print in the Boone News Republican, which no longer supplies much Boone news.
     Congratulations to Joe Smith, CEO of the Boone County Hospital. At the organizations annual meeting recently, he received the Iowa Hospital Association Excellence in Leadership Award.
     That honor is given to an individual who is an Iowa hospital or health system executive who shows achievement in Iowa state and national health care affairs, in addition to showing leadership among their peers and contributions to their community in general.
     Then too, former Boone resident, Wyatt Chidester, has been honored after completing 39 years of service in the United States Navy.
     Wyatt's parents, his dad, John, and step-mom Sharon Jones Chidester, current Boone residents, attended the retirement ceremony in Florida, October 5.
     Wyatt enlisted in the service in 1979 and moved forward in a superlative career.
     After serving as an enlisted man for 12 years and achieving the rank of Chief Petty Officer, he was commissioned as a limited duty officer (LDO) ensign in October of 1991 and converted to an unrestricted line officer in 1996.
     Wyatt spent some of his early years in Boone but graduated from Spirit Lake High School, Spirit Lake, Iowa.
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     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Marjorie McNeil, 90, Boone. BHS-46. Secretary for the Dean of Education at Iowa State University for 12 years prior to retirement in 1990. Married Ron McNeil in 1950. He passed in 2015. Boone area survivors include a sister, Maurine Morris, of Boone. A son and daughter also survive.........Anna Mae Thiel, 91, Ames. Worked for the Ames school system for 22 years. Boone area survivor is a son, Dr. Scott Thiel of Boone. Two daughters and another son also survive.......Nancy Ann Sinn, 80, Beaumont, CA. Survivors include her husband, Jerry Sinn, a son and two daughters.
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     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments....
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.