FARMING FRIENDS: VOLUNTEER AS REGULAR AS CLOCKWORK

Leroy Mier of Oran is a farmer. He has found through hard work that you reap what you sow.

The same can be said of volunteering. Mier has donated of his time to Southeast Missouri Hospital as a volunteer for a dozen years.

His dependable, cheerful, and willing attitude makes him a favorite among the patients and staff in the radiology department.

Mier, 76, has logged in more than 4,000 volunteer hours at the hospital. He can be found working seven- to eight-hour shifts each Friday and on Sunday afternoons and early evenings.

He's quick with a story for patients as he wheels them in a gurney or cart from patient room to MRI, cat scan, ultra sound, X-ray or nuclear medicine treatment. He also sorts records and X-rays, and can be found delivering flowers when the need arrives.

Mier enjoys his time with the patients. "We chat," he said simply. "I meet a lot of interesting people."

Some of the patients are "kind of down in the dumps," said Mier.

So he shares a story or kind word. It's something the patients remember and appreciate, said Charlotte Sargent, director of volunteer services at Southeast.

Sometimes, he finds a fellow farmer to talk shop. "I met a rice farmer from Dexter once," said Mier. "It was interesting to me."

Mier seems more like a staff member than a volunteer, said Tom Welch, director of the radiology department.

"He's as regular as clockwork," said Welch. "You can set your watch by him. If Leroy says he's going to be there, he is."

Welch admires the way Mier puts patients at ease. "He's done it long enough to know just what to say," he said.

Sargent added, "He's provided remarkable service to the hospital. He's just so dedicated."

Mier still keeps some crops -- asparagus and strawberries in the summer that he sells at a roadside stand between Chaffee and Oran. During harvest time, you can find him there in the daytime.

He has also found time to help with the horses at the Girl Scout camp in year's past, and he's a loyal parishioner at Guardian Angel church in Oran.

But on Fridays and Sundays, he's a fixture at the hospital. Mier has no plans to slow down the pace for his volunteerism.

"They haven't kicked me out yet, so I guess I'll stay," he said.

Sargent added: "I don't know what we'd do without you, Leroy."