Linda Hitz Shinkle *

I moved to Milledgeville during the middle of the 8th grade and finished at West End Elementary. Having moved from a very large town and a huge school (in Memphis), I loved being in a smaller town. Baldwin High School was a great place for me during those years. I loved the sense of community and the hometown atmosphere. I have so many special memories of wonderful friends and school activities.

I graduated from Georgia Southern in 1974 and moved to Columbus, Georgia, where I began as a teacher of exceptional children. In 1976, I received a M.Ed. in Interrelated Disabilities and became Director of Patient Education at a private psychiatric hospital, supervising the school for hospitalized adolescents and doing educational evaluation and counseling for young adults. I also taught education classes at Columbus State University and supervised summer interns, while working toward my doctorate in education from Auburn (which I never completed due to family!).

i married my husband, John, in 1977 and we have had a blessed life. He is a wonderful man, a great father, and also my best friend.

I cut back on my schedule when our daughters were born in 1983 and 1984 and completely "retired" to be a full time mother in 1988.

Since then I have been active in the community as a volunteer and am very active in my church.

I completed the last half of the year at West End Elementary.

I am most proud of my family and my wonderful daughters. I love being a wife and mother and it has been so rewarding to see our children grow up to be productive citizens.

I have become fairly good at organizing committees and events! During my years of volunteering for various organizations, I have had the opportunity to put together several large events for our community. I am very active at St. Francis Hospital, often called the "heart hospital" due to it's large cardiac program, and am a past president of the Auxiliary having served on the Auxiliary Board for more than 12 years. I have also served on the St. Francis Hospital Foundation Board for six years and am currently the chair-elect for 2011.
I love being active in my church, Trinity Episcopal Church, and we just celebrated it's 175th year. I chair the InReach committee, which coordinates funerals, as well as meals and flowers for parishioners that are in the hospital or are at home recovering. I also serve on the Altar Guild, Flower Guild, and Linen Guild.
It's obvious I like to stay busy and involved! When the time comes that I am blessed with grandchildren, I hope to channel a lot of my energies there.

Become a grandmother!

I love volunteering, and that takes up much of my time. We have wonderful friends that we play couples golf with, eat out, and travel.

I love to read, cook, and work in my flower garden when I am not doing any of the above. John and I also love traveling and are planning a trip to 4 countries in Europe for next summer. We have one more wedding to get behind us first! (August 7, 2010)