Emily Banich of Libby was honored as Young Adult Volunteer of the Year on March 16 during the Montana Health Care Association Convention in Bozeman.

A fifth-grade student at Libby Middle School, Banich has for the past three years, spent 14 hours each week volunteering at Libby Care Center. On holidays, she often adorns a dress, high heels and an apron to serve residents.

Banich stops and visits with individual residents and assists with the community picnic. For several years, she visited a resident that she had become attached to and after the woman’s passing, she continued her mission to provide comfort. She hopes to work at the Libby Care Center in the future.

Also at the convention, the Libby Care Center received an Innovative Care Award for the creative Happy Hour program developed by Administrator Cathy Ann Jenkins. The program, implemented on Fridays at the center, serves as an end-of-week gathering for residents, family, friends and employees.