Vee Sutherlin — Honorary Recognition Award

Presented to an individual or individuals who have made significant contributions, rendered distinguished service or valuable assistance to the nursing profession. 

Vee Sutherlin is a retired nurse with over 54 years of experience in the nursing profession. Her first nursing position was as a public health nurse with the Spokane County Health Department.

In 1968, the director of the nursing program at Deaconess, invited Vee to work as a nursing instructor. This was a turning point in Vee's career, as she found her niche in nursing education, teaching thousands of students who went on to their own careers in the nursing profession. She went from nurse educator to department chair of the associate degree in nursing program at Spokane Community College. But she never gave up bedside nursing. She also worked as a supplemental staff nurse at Sacred Heart.

After retiring from the community college in 2006, she worked as a charge nurse for Pediatric After Hours until the program was discontinued in 2017.

Vee was actively involved in the Inland Empire Nurses Association and the Washington State Nurses Association. While on the WSNA Board of Directors in the early 2000s, Vee began serving on the Board of Trustees of the Washington State Nurses Foundation.

Vee has truly served the profession of nursing in bedside nursing, education and leadership.