W.L. Johnson wins Bell Ringer Award

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

JOHNSON

Recognizing his efforts to promote mental health care in Warren County, W.L. Johnson was honored with CHEER’s Bell Ringer Award Thursday night.

Johnson has been involved with CHEER and the Mental Health Alliance for some time and is a member of the CHEER board. He has been instrumental in the establishment of other local facilities including Harmony House near Boyd Christian and Generations in Morrison.

“I feel honored, and I’m humble too,” said Johnson as he accepted the award at CHEER’s annual banquet. “What gives me the greatest pleasure in my life is helping those who can’t help themselves. If we do that, then we can get along.”

C.N. Womack, a past president of CHEER and himself the recipient of the Bell Ringer Award in 1989, presented Johnson with the honor.

“For the past 50 years this individual has been tremendously active in mental health,” said Womack.

It’s the 30th year CHEER has presented the Bell Ringer Award.

The CHEER center, located next to River Park Hospital, is a non-profit facility that serves the community’s mental health needs. It currently handles more than 1,500 adult and 300 child clients. The center is funded, and was directly established, by the CHEER Mental Health Association, a group formed in 1968 and led by Nelma Justin. The group also provides volunteer labor and center advocacy.

Harry Dunn, current CHEER president, handed out certificates of recognition to several local volunteers lauding their work in mental health. Receiving those honors were Julia Carter, president of Mental Health Alliance and principal banquet speaker, and CHEER members Nelma Justin, Robbie Sharpe, and Joyce Bailey.

Receiving CHEER Mental Health Center Employee of the Year awards were Claudia Culberson and Bryan Herriman.

“Most people do not realize the tremendous demand for mental health care in our community,” said Justin. “The staff and physicians at CHEER are literally swamped and need all the help they can get.”

Justin noted the association has enjoyed great community support and to recognize this, CHEER officials began making an annual presentation of the Bell Ringer Award. The award is named for the mental health bell — the symbol of the National Mental Health Association. This bell is cast from melted chains and shackles that used to restrain mental health patients in our country. It serves as a sign of hope for progress in the treatment of mental illness.

For more information or to volunteer or offer donations, contact CHEER at 473-9649.