KILGOROUND
LESTER MURRAY

One never knows where life will take us, but we all have to make difficult decisions sometimes and for one Kilgore couple saying good-bye is hard to do.

Bob and Susan Ellzey will be packing their bags, selling their home and setting out on a new adventure, one not so much by choice, but by necessity. "If I had my way I would remain in Kilgore for the rest of my life," said Bob. "But when circumstances dictate change, you have to adapt."

Bob and Susan will be heading to Mena, Ark. where Bob has accepted a new job as Chief Executive Officer with the Mena Regional Health System. "It's been tough with this last year at Laird Memorial Hospital, very stressful, but the future for both my family and Kilgore looks great," said Bob.

"I feel the new Allegiance Hospital will fit the needs of Kilgore well with

what services it is offering to the community," said Bob. "But for me I need to be in the mainstream of medical care for the community and that is exactly what Mena is offering me," said Bob. "The Mena community of 6500 people is served by the only hospital in an 85 mile radius."

Bob said the amount of support he received from members of the Kilgore community was outstanding. "I received offers of jobs right here in Kilgore, but that would have meant changing my job goals and what I do is what I love," said Bob. "I even had offers in a larger market, but the rural medical setting suits me best and that is why Mena was the perfect fit."

Bob said he expected to be out of work for nine to 12 months, "but with a good word from a friend in Arkansas, an interview and I was on my way to Mena. Susan and I were already familiar with the area because Arkansas is where we would go on vacations," said Bob.

Susan works at the First Baptist Church Day Care and Bob said she loves it there, and that will be tough on her to leave. "Susan has not yet even been to Mena, but she is behind me one hundred percent," said Bob.

The job will require Bob to supervise about 325 employees in a 65-bed hospital that provides comprehensive health care, surgical, home health, geriatrics, orthopedics and more said Bob. "Everyone has been wonderful and warm, just like the people in Kilgore have been to my family since I arrived five years ago," said Bob.

The Mena hospital serves the west Arkansas and East Oklahoma area and has been doing so for over 50 years. "The hospital just added a new wing and the rest of the hospital got a remodel," said Bob.

Bob will be leaving on June 26 and starting his new job on July 1. "We are going up next week to find a house; now all I have to do is sell the one in Kilgore," said Bob.

Mena is only three and a half hours from Kilgore. Bob says if you're looking for a great vacation spot, that area is wonderful and if you're passing by the hospital, please stop by and say hello.

"Even though I will miss the people of Kilgore very much, I feel my calling is serving the medical needs of a rural community and I feel Mena is the perfect fit for me at this time, thanks again for love and friendship, Kilgore will be in my heart always," Bob.

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HAPPY birthday today to Daren Chappell, Nell Bell, Kathleen Beeman, Gordon Lynn Swaim Jr., Brooke Waggoner, Londesta Howard, Marcus Shepherd, Jane Johnson, Chad Harrington, Karl Bolt, Rob Reed, Sharon Brockway

CELEBRATING wedding anniversaries today are Mr. and Mrs. Vernon L. Pate, Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Matthews