Ron U. Jun 2021 Volunteer Spotlight

I had been ruminating on becoming an FIA volunteer.  Before Covid, my community service was with children.  Then the schools closed, and the program closed as well.  I needed to have contact with people, get out of the house and serve others.  Becoming an FIA driver was the perfect fit.

I’m a driver.  I enjoy giving multiple rides to the same individual because we develop a friendship.  I just enjoy talking to people about their lives.  I am a veteran and can relate to other vets well.  I find each individual’s life story interesting. 

As a retiree, I enjoy the Pantagraph’s Letters to the Editor and have had one guest editorial.  I am a railroad enthusiast and read Trains Magazine each month.  I also enjoy ballroom dancing, low impact exercise, stretching and walking anywhere, but especially in remote and serene woods or prairies.  I am an economist and still passionately study the economy and government. 

Before Covid hit, I had started performing stand-up comedy.  I also enjoy driving my 15-year-old red Chrysler Sebring Convertible, especially when the sun is setting on a beautiful warm day – feeling the cool of evening coming in.  A few years ago, a woman probably 15 to 20 years older than me asked me to drive her to a dance in Heyworth on a perfect summer evening.  We drove to Heyworth, danced a couple of dances, mostly watched others dance and we drove home under a perfect sunset.  It was the first time since high school she had been in a convertible; for a few moments she travelled back to those high school days, riding in a convertible.  On the way home she was in heaven, floating on a cloud.  I also greatly enjoyed the beautiful drive home, but I received an even greater joy from observing her joy.