Leroy Hansen

• Name: Leroy Hansen

• Age: 70

• Family: Wife of 50 years, Mary; children, Lorri and Roy; 11 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren

• City of residence: Live Oak

• Occupation: Retired from IBM

• How long have you lived in the Yuba-Sutter area? Since 1965

• Hobbies, interests: I like to do a lot of research in whatever I'm involved in, whether for the Red Cross, activities for the community, for the church.

• For what groups do you volunteer? The American Red Cross for about the past 10 years, currently serving as disaster chair.

I just got back from Hawaii as the pre-landfall team for Hurricane Felicia - our goal is to get things in place before it happens, in case it happens. The hurricane didn't arrive in Hawaii.

I first became involved with the Red Cross community emergency response team in Yuma, Ariz., where we spend winters.

The Live Oak Nazarene Church — I'm reducing my activities for the Red Cross and focusing more on my church and what we can do for the community. I've been attending since 2002— I've always volunteered for my church.

My activities at the church include the Compassion in Action food pantry, director of the Men's Ministry, doing the invocation at city hall, the Celebrate Recovery support group and doing video announcements for the church that appear during the worship time of the service.

I've always volunteered, though nowhere near as much as when I retired. If there's any inheritance I want to give my family, that is an inheritance of servitude.

• How do you fit it into your schedule? Sometimes I say, "Lord, give me a little more time in the day." There just isn't enough time.

• Words of advice: Find out what your passion is. If you don't have that passion, you shouldn't be doing it. The rewards out there for volunteering are absolutely unbelievable. It's not a plaque on the wall, not a certificate of appreciation — it's meaningful, it becomes a part of you.

• Quote: "(Volunteering) is something inside of me and I can't stop doing it."

Volunteer of the Week runs Tuesdays on the Local page. To submit the name of a volunteer to be featured, contact Leticia Gutierrez, Community Editor, at lgutierrez@appeal-democrat.com or call 741-2400.