Donna Houser offers a familiar refrain when asked about how and why she volunteers.
“Whatever people need,” she says, “I’ll do it.”
Houser, a retired Iola Middle School teacher and a fixture in the Iola community, brought home the Iola Area Chamber of Commerce’s Volunteer of the Year Award, announced Friday at the chamber’s annual dinner.
If she had her druthers, Houser would do away with such recognition, and remain an anonymous cog with her activities.
“People have really read enough about me,” she said with a laugh. “They certainly don’t need to see me again in the paper.”
But her desire to get things done warrants the publicity.
Take, for instance, her duties with the Molly Trolley.
“I think I do about everything except pay the bills,” she said.
Houser schedules drivers for trolley rides. She also serves as hostess and narrator for the trips, and usually does the research to uncover facts about historic sites in and around Iola, locales the trolley visits regularly or for special occasions.
Speaking of history…
Houser has played an integral role with the Allen County Historical Society, from setting up its front window displays, researching specific topics or entering computer records when needed. She stays in touch, at times on an hourly basis with Jeff Kluever, ACHS director.
“I’m also the junk lady,” she said Tuesday, shortly after returning from hauling a load of items from the museum to the Allen County Landfill.”
Then she repeats her volunteerism mantra.
“Before Jeff came, I did all of the computer work for the historical society,” she said. “But Jeff’s so good at at it, that I’m not needed as much. But whatever Jeff needs, I do it.”
Houser also has become a behind-the-scenes fixture for the Iola Chamber, from collecting auction items for the recent Chamber dinner to assisting the Chamber Ambassador program.
And then there’s the Bowlus Fine Arts Center, where she embarked on an ambitious bit of research in recent years to track down everyone who had contributed financially to the Bowlus since it opened in the 1960s.
Houser recently handed that baton to Tracy Plumlee, the Bowlus’ business manager, but remains ready to jump back in when asked.
