Giving back to those who serve in the nation’s military comes easily to Monica Mahoney.
“The military has always been my heart,” said Mahoney, who recently received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Humanitarian Services in Washington, D.C. for her volunteerism through the American Red Cross at Eisenhower Army Medical Center.
Mahoney’s connection to the military came through her career in civil service. After graduating from college in 1973, she started working as a secretary at Moody Air Force Base. She later worked at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, where she met her husband, Michael, and retired from Fort Eisenhower in December 2007.
Mahoney said she needed to keep busy after retiring.
“I love to talk. I love to be around people,” she said.
While visiting a friend at the hospital, she found herself in the Red Cross office, helping a soldier with an Excel spreadsheet.
She was asked if she’d like to volunteer with the Red Cross.
“They needed somebody to push a wheelchair,” she said. “Then they needed someone at the front desk.”
In her 16 years as a volunteer, she’s taken on many different roles. Her efforts extend beyond Fort Eisenhower into the U.S. Southern Command.
Mahoney serves as the Regional Volunteer Services Volunteer Connection Hours Lead and the Service to Armed Forces Eisenhower Army Medical Center MTF Program Lead, “where she has a significant impact on the workforce that directly supports our mission,” according to Tim Suda’s nomination letter.
“Monica is a dedicated volunteer whose compassion for our workforce consistently provides the support needed for mission delivery. While her work may be considered by many to be ‘behind-the-scenes,’ to those she works with directly, her support is immensely impactful. In FY2024, Monica’s work on the collection, entry, and approval of more than 50,000 volunteer hours impacted more than 1,000 volunteer across the state in all lines of service,” her nomination continued.
After COVID, she helped to reactivate the VolunTEEN program and reintegrate professional volunteers. Along with her husband, she has worked as blood donor ambassador and supported blood drives.
Mahoney was one of nine awardees at the national level.
In February, she was recognized at the Southeast and Caribbean Division meeting in Tampa for her dedication and compassion to the mission.
“During recent Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, Monica, true to form, was among the first to return to work in the hospital, despite having trees down in her yard, no electricity, water, phone, or internet connectivity she continued to place the needs of others above self,” said Joseph Bird, Deputy for Quality and Safety at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, in a Feb. 5 post on the Georgia Red Cross Facebook page.
The presidential award isn’t the only award she’s received. In 2024, she received the Clara Barton Volunteer Leadership Award, and in 2020, she received the Red Cross Volunteer Services Award.
Mahoney said she doesn’t volunteer for the accolades, but she does it because it’s something she loves to do.
“I’ve gotten to meet so many people that I would never have met in my lifetime,” she said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
