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City of Columbia volunteers recognized for extraordinary efforts!
The Volunteer of the Month program recognizes the efforts of some of the many volunteers who improve the City of Columbia. Visit this page to read about our volunteers of the month!
2009 : 2008 : 2007 : 2006 : 2005 : 2004 : 2003 : 2002 : 2001 : 2000
For volunteer Steve Callis, being green really is easy. Not only does he teach Columbians how to compost and address yard waste in classes in the spring and fall, he integrates those methods in his workplace and home.
Callis has been volunteering with the City of Columbia Public Works Volunteer Program for four years. His classes emphasize the benefits of backyard composting and best practices for disposal of kitchen and backyard waste.
With public awareness in sustainability growing, there has been increased interest in the composting classes. Callis says, “People taking the classes range from the hard-core gardeners to those who just want to do something else with their yard waste other than sending it to a land fill.”
Callis gets tremendous satisfaction passing on the specialized experience that he has: “It’s great to be able to give back; I really enjoy sharing my knowledge about composting, which is a narrow field, but I feel it does some good in sharing that knowledge.” Callis’ supervisor, Andrea Shelton, agrees. One of the classes’ benefits, she says, is that it shows average families, with average budget concerns, that they can still impact the environment.
Callis also volunteers with MarineParents.com, Toys for Tots and the Marine Corps League.
Article by volunteer Sarah G. Madden
The City of Columbia offers an incredible variety of opportunities for volunteer work – the only difficulty may be choosing where to give one’s time.
Just ask Carolyn Oates, a Columbia resident since 1963. Oates is currently involved in Columbia’s First Night celebration, the Mayor’s Challenge: Bike, Walk and Wheel Week, Adopt-A-Spot Beautification and was recently named to the Mayor’s Council for Physical Fitness and Health.
Oates says that her enjoyment of the First Night festivities initially drew her to volunteering nine years ago. Since then, she has served on the First Night Board and as Board President, coordinated venues and been responsible for logistics and supplies.
Her passion for biking lead to her involvement in the Mayor’s Bike, Walk and Wheel Week, which is an annual event emphasizing active transportation. Oates has been part of the Week since 2003 and has served on the planning committee.
As a Master Gardener, Oates has spearheaded an effort to partner Master Gardeners with volunteers in the Adopt-A-Spot program to provide mentoring and educational support. She also coordinated the adoption of a bed at Broadway and Old 63 with her employer, Missouri Cancer Associates. Oates says, “Columbia is such a great place to live – it offers so many educational and cultural opportunities. I feel blessed to live here.”
Article written by volunteer Sarah Madden
In Herman Traudes’ native country of Holland, volunteering is an essential element of civic life: “Everybody is involved in something. It builds and maintains a community and a sense of ‘ownership’ and responsibility.”
So it seemed only natural that when Traudes learned of the City of Columbia TreeKeepers Program in the monthly City Source newsletter, he would become involved. Over the last four years, Traudes has donated more than 60 hours of his time to the program.
TreeKeepers volunteers help plant trees, mulch, fertilize and prune. They are also fight brush overgrowth and remove exotic species that crop up in parks and along nature trails.
Traudes said his time commitment is about ten Saturday mornings per year, but he welcomes that opportunity. TreeKeepers “immediately appealed to me because of the training you receive and the expert management of the program. The combination of being outdoors, getting expert guidance and experiencing the effects of good landscaping inspires.”
Chad Herwald, Traudes supervisor in the program, said that his enthusiasm for his work shows. “Herman is very knowledgeable about the process our staff goes through for each individual project . . . and he is always willing to educate and instruct our newer TreeKeepers.”
Written by volunteer Sarah G. Madden
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