Honoring those who walked before: MCTC alumna founds BTNHG
Published on Jan 16, 2026
A Maysville Community and Technical College alumna and former employee recently formed
the Buffalo Trace Nurses Honor Guard (BTNHG) to honor deceased nurses.
Dr. Rhonda Sims, a 1984 alumna, was the first student to earn a certificate in the vet tech program at MCTC. She also completed two associate degrees: business management and nursing.
Sims taught for 24 years in the Registered Nursing (RN) program on the Maysville, Montgomery, and Licking Valley Campuses.
She also worked closely with Debbie Nolder, a former nursing faculty member and MCTC alumni coordinator, to pioneer the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to RN program.
As one of the longest practicing nursing professionals in the state, Sims has provided medical care for over 24 years. She currently works as a forensic nurse, treating assault victims.
Even after two decades of service, Sims found herself interested in giving back to the nurses whose service predated her own.
In a time of grief, Sims was introduced to a nurse's honor guard in Northern Kentucky. The performance at her mother’s funeral left a lasting impression and led to the debut of the BTNHG.
“At her service, I experienced the most heart-warming ceremony I’ve ever witnessed,”
she said. “The honor guard is giving back to someone who walked ahead of us.”
She encouraged alumni nurses who feel a pull to give back to join the BTNHG.
According to Sims, the BTNHG is for active and retired nurses who are interested in volunteering to honor licensed practical, registered nurses, and nurse practitioners.
Similar to the honor guard that performs at services for veterans, law enforcement, or fire officials, the BTNHG intends to attend services in uniform. Specifically, a traditional white nurse uniform.
Among other things, the honor guard will recite “A Nurse’s Prayer” and The Nightingale Tribute, and finally, present the Florence Nightingale Lamp to the family.
Sims recalled a symbolic aspect of her mother’s funeral that stood out to her—blowing out the candle/lamp that her mother lit when she first entered the nursing profession.
“It was so heartwarming because, we light a Florence Nightingale porcelain lamp. It’s what we give students when they graduate in our nursing ceremony, and because I was a nurse, she (the honor guard volunteer) walked over to me and said, “You’re a nurse. You blow out your mother’s candle because it was lit when she started her profession.” It was so moving,” Sims explained.
She explained this symbolized the official end of her mother’s service.
Sims once again encouraged active and retired nurses to join the BTNHG.
The BTNHG services are free and are available for visitations, funerals, memorial ceremonies, or at bedside in hospice care.
For more information on the BTNHG, please visit the group’s Facebook page (Buffalo Trace Nurses Honor Guard).
The group may also be contacted at btnhg3@gmail.com.
