By CINDY BISHOP

cindy.bishop@gaflnews.com

CORDELE — Volunteering for the “Pink Ladies” at Crisp Regional Hospital is quite a rewarding experience for one of its members who it turns out, really isn’t a lady at all.

James “Hobie” Kent is the only male volunteer, also known as a “red coat” for the hospital’s auxiliary and says he enjoys being able to bring a little sunshine into someone’s day by doing what he loves — helping others.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Md., Kent says he’s a “misplaced Yankee, but loves it!”

While living in Baltimore, Kent worked as a telephone company technician. At the age of 31 and with 10 years seniority at his job, he said he was ready to try something different.

“I wanted to go to radar school and the company I was working for at the time said ‘no,’” he said. “So that’s when I made up my mind to move to Florida and work as a phone technician at the Kennedy Space Center.

While working and living in Florida, Kent came to Georgia to visit some friends in Hawkinsville. While there, he mentioned that he was interested in buying some land in the area so his friends showed him some different places.

“I rode around and looked at the places and just fell in love with green...everything as far as I could see was green,” 78-year-old Kent said. “That’s when I decided to plant myself in Dooly County in the Tippettville Community.”

Kent said his biggest hurdle in moving to Georgia was getting a transfer from his office in Florida to the company’s office in Macon. However, he did and worked in Bibb County for five years before taking early retirement from the phone company in 1984. He said he enjoyed being retired, but soon found himself wanting and needing to do something to keep himself busy.

That’s when he tried a couple of different jobs, one being at a local hardware store and the other being at a business in Hawkinsville.

“I just didn’t enjoy what I was doing,” he said. “That’s when I found the hospital in Vienna and went to work there as a volunteer.”

He worked there for about a year before the hospital closed its doors.

Then one day while attending church services at the Cordele First United Methodist Church, Kent met a lady who would not only become his co-worker, but his dearest friend.