Ray Klomes is a member of the Dowagiac Elks Lodge who is volunteering during the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce’s upcoming Summer in the City Festival, which takes place Thursday through Sunday downtown.

What are you doing during the Summer in the City Festival?

I’m helping with the Amazing Race, which is the first time we’re doing that. I’m on the planning committee with Joe Silvia and Kim MacGregor, and I’m going to be one of the volunteers on location for that. I’m probably going to be working the beer tent on Friday and Saturday night. They’re just going to fill me in where they need me.

 

What made you want to volunteer for the event?

The Elks have joined the chamber for the first time, and we’re trying to be active with the chamber. I do CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) stuff too with the police department, working the Christmas Parade and the Memorial Day Parade, and we’ll be out there for Steve’s Run. The chamber kind of knows me from the Christmas Parade, and they called me and I said sure. I like working with the community.

 

How did you get involved with CERT?

That was through the sheriff’s office. I got trained maybe six-seven years ago. Lately I’ve been doing more work with the Dowagiac side, with the police department and fire department. It’s a way to help out during an emergency — or for parades.

 

Have you helped with prior summer festivals?

I’ve done little things here or there when they needed it, but nothing where I was dedicated to it. My wife [Zana] and I bring some of our animals down for the Harvest Moon Festival that the chamber puts on in October.

 

Is there any other volunteer work you or your wife do around the community?

I’m vice president of the Cass County Cancer Service. We raise money for people going through cancer to help pay their bills, for anyone in Cass County.

The Elks raises lots of money for different youth programs. We donate all over the place: little league, soccer, band, choir, football; we’ve donated to Fitch Camp and places like that.

 

What makes you like volunteering for so many different things?

The way I was raised. My dad was always active in the church or little league or football, community stuff like that. I just fell in line. I worked in Chicago, and my son lives here, so I wasn’t able to help as much I liked to when he was growing up. I retired when he was a freshman.

I actually started holding chains for the JV freshman games, and I would donate my money from that back to the football team so they could have some extra money. That’s where it started, and it kind of snowballed. I joined the Elks because I didn’t know anybody. I started meeting people and started doing other things. I don’t like sitting around doing nothing.

 

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) 687-7720, or emailing him at craig.haupert@leaderpub.com.