Volunteerism Keeps Retirees Active in Base Community

For Lt. Col. Dawson Williams, retirement did not end his service; it simply changed the way he served.

“Still serving is a way that a lot of veterans see themselves,” he said. “If it’s not at the air base, it’s somewhere, still serving — never going to die as a person that serves; as long as there’s breath in the body and blood flowing, a true veteran will help in any way that Uncle Sam or the government needs us.”

For Williams, that service takes that shape of volunteering at the Little Rock Air Force Base Support Services Center as a customer care liaison. If someone walks in to renew an ID card, have their photo taken or sort out a payment issue, he is often the first person they see.

“They can spend 10 minutes reading boards to see, ‘What’s that room number?’ and trying to find out, ‘Where’s that room at?’ or they can talk to me,” he said. “I save them 10 minutes, and by doing that and keeping them from talking to two other offices to find out where it’s at, that can be 20 minutes, so by the time you finish it, and then there’s people back at their unit, waiting for them to get back, that can be 40 minutes.

“So what do I do? I give people a warm welcome and efficiently and professionally help them find out where the services that they’re seeking are and get it done in a timely manner.”

He only works the desk four hours a week, he said, but it saves the military an untold amount of money and makes someone’s day a little easier, both of which give Williams satisfaction with his work.

“We all have a great debt we can’t go back and pay to what we call Uncle Sam, to the government or to the individuals who developed us,” he said, “but we can pay it forward by helping the next person through the door and the next person that needs the service we provide.”

Dawson Williams

Williams is not alone in that mentality. Since he took the job two years ago, he has recruited two other retirees to volunteer positions on base. One said, “I’d do it in a heartbeat.” The other one just said yes.

“Military people have a different mindset than what I’m going to call the civilian community,” said Michael Spradling, retiree activities director. “The need to serve is pretty strong with most of the military people. This helps fulfill that need.”

Spradling is a retiree volunteer himself, having retired from the Army in 1997. In his role, he manages a team of more than 50 volunteers who assist the 50,000 or so retired service members across the state with their benefits.

Especially for retirees who are not computer savvy, Spradling and his team can be the difference between accessing insurance forms, financial records and other important documents or spending hours on the phone with nothing to show for their efforts.

Michael Spradling

“A lot of them are very appreciative of it because they may have sat there, trying to call on the phone, and sat for an hour, waiting in a hold line to try to talk to someone,” he said. “If they don’t say the right words at the right time when they’re asked what their password is, what was their last home of record, what was the phone number when they enlisted, if they can’t answer those questions correctly, then they can’t get anywhere.”

He added that the financial impact of volunteerism is significant, as well. Through his office alone, he said, volunteers save the Air Force half a million dollars in salary costs.

Numerous other areas of the base seek out volunteers, including the chapel, child development center and Airman’s Attic, a thrift store, not to mention the volunteers needed for special events such as air shows. Volunteerism is not exclusive to retirees, either.

Karen Rendon said she volunteers at the base pharmacy in honor of her late husband, Ray.

“One day, somebody asked me what his song would be, and I said it would be that song, ‘I Did It My Way,’ because his military life was, ‘With all due respect, sir, we’re not doing it that way. We’re doing it my way,’” she said. “He would always tell me, ‘As long as I throw in that “all due respect, sir,” I’m covered. I know my job. I know what’s supposed to go on that airplane, what’s not supposed to go on that airplane. It’s not going on there if it’s not supposed to.’”

Karen Rendon

When Ray was battling health issues that included diabetes, heart failure and renal failure, seeing a friendly face at the pharmacy made everything easier on days when it felt like life was going into a tailspin, she said. When she was offered a volunteer position, she took it.

“I love my job,” she said. “I love getting out and meeting people. I’ve met a lot of good people. You hear a lot of different stories from our members that come in. Some of them may be coming in and having a really bad day and just need somebody to talk to, and as long as there’s nobody in line behind them, you can tell me what’s going on in your life. I’ll talk to you for as long as I can.”

Because Ray was an organ donor, Karen also volunteers at Southern Legacy of Life and the Arkansas Donor Family Council, and she previously volunteered at Unity Health in Jacksonville. She keeps a busy schedule, she said, but she would like to eventually volunteer at the Jacksonville Historical Museum, as well.

“For me, it’s fulfilling to say that I can help someone, even if it’s just nothing but opening a door and giving them their medicines,” she said. “The people that you meet, the stories that you hear, it’s just something that I really like to do, and if you’re a people person, then it’s a great thing to do.”

For retirees, especially, volunteerism provides an important social activity, Spradling said.

“One advantage of military life — you have a lot of contacts,” he said. “You have a lot of people that you know and know you. To quote someone, you have a village. You’re a member of that village. You can go to anyone and ask for help. You can talk to them. There’s the social aspect that goes with it.

“When you retire, although it’s not really true, you have a feeling that you’re no longer a part of that village, that you don’t have that camaraderie, that social network. Volunteering keeps you actively involved in the community, and those people that you consider part of your social circle, it keeps you involved with them, plus you get to meet new people all the time.”

The military offers preretirement briefings to teach veterans about their pension and benefits, as well as educational opportunities and career transition services, he said, but less cut-and-dried is the way each individual deals with the emotional aspects of retirement.

“Let’s say, as an example, you had a chief master sergeant, highest-ranking [noncommissioned] man in the Air Force,” Spradling said. “He or she is an important person. They have a lot of responsibility. They walk out the gate the day after their retirement, and all of a sudden, they’re just a normal person. That takes a while to readjust the way you approach things.”

Williams put it another way: “Square pegs don’t fit well in round holes.”

“When the hardening starts to soften, it’s frightening, and it’s awkward, and it’s difficult, and you have to find your way,” he said. “Eventually, as time goes on, you won’t be as hard, and some of the things you were in the presence of and took care of, just the memories can bring you to almost being stopped in your tracks.”

A former Army chaplain who is also a licensed professional counselor, Williams said volunteering is an effective way for retirees to adjust.

“When you put emphasis on helping others, you take some stress off your own self, so volunteering, beginning to be considerate of others and supportive in ways that are helpful toward others, you can lower your medication count if you want to,” he said. “If you really want to find out, ‘What are some things I can do to go ahead and de-stress and decompress and be less anxious?’ one thing I could highly recommend is let’s get you involved in some meaningful helping activities.”

Even if life slows down after 65, Spradling said there are plenty of ways to get out of the house and into the community.

“Look for opportunities that make you feel good,” he added. “Even putting flags out on Memorial Day on all the gravestones makes people feel better. It gives them a sense of purpose that they’re still giving.”

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