Ron Jones, of Dowagiac, is a retired educator and a current trustee on the Dowagiac Union Schools Board of Education. He and his wife volunteer their time with the Cass County COA.

 

What kind of volunteer work do you do with the COA?

At the COA, currently, my wife and I drive Meals on Wheels, and we have been doing that for 13 years. We drive once a week, and we have an established route. Wednesday is our day to deliver.

Previous to that, I served on the COA board, from just after 2000 … I had served as treasurer for quite a few years, I’m not sure how many. Nine years ago, we decided as a board to put in term limits. We have a board of 14, and we try to get people who reside in different areas of the county, and it was thought that the more new blood we got in there the better off we’ll be. When we passed that, anyone who had nine years from the time of that passage, starting then, would be term limited off. I was term limited off in April of this year.

 

Did you take on any other responsibilities with the COA?

I take patients on medical transportation for a couple of years, when we had tough time getting drivers. I would drive the Cass County van and take wheelchair patients to various parts outside of the county. All of those went to Berrien County, or Kalamazoo County, or sometimes even in Indiana.

Through the years, I’ve been active in fundraising projects, including trivia night and some of the other projects that we’ve had.

 

Why did you decide to volunteer with the COA?

The thing that made me want to serve is because I could just see the potential and what a great thing it would be for the county. As far as I’m concerned, we have one of the better senior citizen agencies around that I know of, including northern Indiana.

One of the big projects I’m most proud of is when we built the facility in Dowagiac, which I think served a lot more people that couldn’t normally go out to Cass.

 

Are there any other places you volunteer?

Lions Club. We just got done with our white cane drive to raise money for sight saving, and Michigan Leader Dogs for the Blind, and Michigan Eye Bank. I’ve been a member of the Lions Club for quite a few years, since I retired, and I was a member of the Lions Club previously in other places I was.

I feel strongly that you have to pick out something, and a lot of people do. A lot of people pick out something they feel comfortable with, and give something back. If it weren’t for all the people that did that, then we would be in poor shape.

 

Do you know a volunteer worthy of recognition? Nominate him or her as the Volunteer of the Week by calling Craig Haupert, community editor, at (269) 687-7713, or by emailing him at craig.haupert@leaderpub.com.