Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonilea Riley And Michele Roberts.
Hi Jonilea Riley and Michele Roberts, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The Nurse Honor Guard has been around Nationally for approximately 20 years. My co-founder, Michele Roberts and I, JJ, went to the National Convention in Erlanger, Kentucy that was held by the National Nurse Honor Guard Coalition. This is the National Organization that assists each state with all the information to start and manage a Chapter. While there, we met our Georgia State Coordinator, Jennifer Heyer, RN and she assisted us in starting a Chapter in Savannah, GA. On August 23, 2025, the Coastal Georgia Nurse Honor Guard was established- Me, JJ Riley, RN at President and Michele Roberts, RN as Vice-President.
We provide legacy services to Nurses at a monumental event in their life, such as birthdays and retirements.
We provide a Nursing tribute at the Nurses Funeral or memorial service. It is like a military or police tribute, but without guns. We will go to the gravesite, funeral home, or wherever the Memorial Service is.
We do a Nightingale Tribute by reciting a prayer, then placing a white rose on the nurse’s casket or urn. Then the immediate family is gifted a white rose as a memorial.
While then will light the Nightengale lamp in honor of the beginning of the nurse’s career. We call the nurse to her final call of duty, ring a bell each time and then blow out the candle. Blowing out the candle symbolizes the end of her career. This then present the lantern to the family.
After the service, we exit out with the family and stand guard as the casket is placed in to the hurst.
These services are given at no cost to the family. We are a strictly volunteer, nonprofit organization. We are all volunteers’ nurses that provide these services on our own time. The gratefulness and appreciation from families after a service is like nothing you can imagine. They are so appreciative of what we do for their loved one that has passed away.
We also provide legacy services to Nurses at a monumental event in their life, such as birthdays and retirements. We give them a certificate for appreciation for being a nurse, a blanket to cover them in our love and flowers with a white rose in the center to thank them for their service.
We have also been involved in community services such as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, MLK Parade, the Pirates game nurse appreciation night, and other various presentations at churches, nursing schools and Nurses Week functions at the Hospitals.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Initially, it was not smooth to get started. We only had 6 or so members when we started and then we had a membership drive and added 20 more! Now we have enough nurses as to where we are able to service everyone that contacts us.
Below are some of the other obstacles-
-Some of the struggles along the way were funding of course. We had to use our own money to get started and continue to use our own funds to keep things going. Printing brochures, business cards, logo merchandise was an expensive start up, but we needed product we could advertise for our services.
-It has been difficult to get our name out into the community to get services. We have visited all the funeral homes and hospices in the surrounding 3 counties; however, they sometimes forget to call us. Right now, it us usually word of mouth and social media that we are using to get our name out in Savannah.
-Fundraising. We are nurses, we really are not experienced in this, so we are having difficulties getting donations and funding.
-We had to get different social media accounts started. we have a Facebook and Instagram. A web page is in the works once funds get better.
-obtaining nonprofit status. Filling our all the paperwork.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
JJ (Jonilea) Riley, RN, ADN, President of Chapter, has been a nurse for 30+ years. Mostly an ER nurse, now a Vascular Access Nurse. My mother was a nurse, and I used to watch her put her hat on before she went to work and wanted to be a nurse ever since. I retired from Memorial Hospital after 25 years. I have been at Candler Hospital for 27 years.
Michele Roberts, RN, BSN Vice-President of Chapter, has been a nurse for 30+ years. She worked in Day Surgery and numerous places at the hospital and has been at Candler almost 40 years. She is my Co-worker on the Vascular Access Team.
We are very proud of the work we do at the hospital. We specialize in any type of vascular access for the patients. Sometimes we are the only nurses in the Hospital that can get an IV line in a patient. We have special skills and are a lifeline for patients to get their medications in a timely manner.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
What has worked well for us has been to go to all the Funeral Homes and Hospice placed in Chatham, Bryan and Liberty counties. These are the counties we cover. When someone passes away, their career is given to the funeral homes. If they are a nurse, we want them to notify us so we can ask family if they would like a tribute for their loved one.
Social media has helped us getting our name out there. We post all our services and events on Facebook and Instagram. People see these and know we are available.
We hope to get a website soon once funds are available.
Pricing:
- Services free to families.
- we are nonprofit, 501(3)(c)
- Tributes are free to families.
- donations Accepted.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram-@coastalganhg
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19BzfdwKo7/?mibextid=wwxlfr
- Other: [email protected]
