All Posts in "Pat Jenkins"

LeMay-America’s Car Museum is heaven on wheels for people like Bill Simon.
As one of the volunteer tour guides, Simon gets to satisfy his own fascination with automobiles while fulfilling the curiosity of visitors who make the pilgrimage to the museum in Tacoma.
And there are opportunities for more people to join Simon in the museum’s volunteer ranks. Museum officials are recruiting for any of nine volunteer roles, ranging from guides to members of the “pit crew” who help visitors take turns in race-car simulators.
The unpaid staff members are important to the overall experience that visitors have at the museum. “We’re so grateful for the work they do,” said Jana Wenstrom, coordinator of the volunteers.
Most of the volunteers are asked to make a one-year commitment. Docents (tour guides) are asked for a two-year commitment that includes ongoing training and independent study.
The work is in shifts of about three hours Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or 1:30 to 5 p.m.
Simon, who also is a substitute school teacher at high schools in Tacoma, reports for duty at the museum next to the Tacoma Dome a little less when school’s in session. But even during the school year, he averages 30 hours a month with the museum. That goes up to 50 hours during the summer. And he loves every minute.
“I’ve always been a car enthusiast. I appreciate the elegance of these classic cars,” he said.
One of his favorites in the LeMay collection is a 1948 Tucker. “It’s one of the museum’s premier cars. Only 50 were made,” he said.
The Tacoma resident has been volunteering at the museum since it opened in 2012. A friend who already was volunteering got him interested.
On any given day, the 165,000 square-feet museum displays as many as 350 cars, trucks and motorcycles from private owners, corporations and LeMay. That’s a fraction of the total LeMay collection, which reached a Guinness Book world record of more than 3,000 vehicles in the mid-1990s.
“The wide variety of cars is one of the things I appreciate the most about the museum. There’s always something new to see,” Simon said.
The museum is often a trip down memory lane for visitors, who often Simon their personal car stories. He recalls, for instance, a woman who reminisced after seeing a 1965 Ford Mustang like the one she was in when her future husband proposed marriage.
“I like hearing people talk about cars that made an impact in their lives, whether it was learning to drive while sitting on their grandfather’s lap or the first car they owned,” Simon said.
His own story is about a 1964 Chevrolet Super Sport convertible. “That was my favorite of the cars I’ve owned,” he said. “It was a hot little car. I’d love to have another one.”
Joining the ranks of museum volunteers can take a person in several directions, depending on the job they’re interested in:
• Tour guide. Docents conduct guided tours for school-age children, educators, seniors, visitors with special needs, and those for whom English is not a first language. Docents will provide a brief history of the museum and an overview of its programs in addition to answering questions about cars. Museum Educator
• Educator. Museum educators lead K-12 audiences in the discovery of automobile-themed topics in the subjects of American history, math, science, literacy, and the arts.
• Collection monitor. Keeps an eye on vehicles that are on display to make sure they aren’t being handled. Monitors also provide information about the museum, its history, and the collection.
• Pit crew. The crew assists visitors with “The Speed Zone,” helping visitors in and out of race-car simulators and orienting them to how the attraction works. The pit crew also helps out with the slot car race track.
• Greeter. Greeters welcome museum guests, distribute maps and information, and answer general questions.
• Photo booth attendant. In this role, volunteers help with taking souvenir pictures of visitors in a 1923 Buick. The work includes starting and shutting down a camera-computer and changing photo paper and ink.
• Events specialist. These volunteers are assigned to special events, greeting visitors in the lobby and helping direct them where to go, serving as a collection monitor in the galleries, or even dressing up in costumes to fit the theme of a party. Volunteers for weekend and evening events are particularly needed.
• Museum ambassador. This involves representing the museum at the museum and off-site events. This position can include setting up booths, positioning vehicles, and arranging signs, tables and displays for off-site events.
• Collection management. This crew is in charge of seeing that vehicles and artifacts are displayed properly and also well-maintained. Team members help with preservation, conservation and historical background. There may be call for detailing, washing and polishing vehicles while they’re on display, maintaining computer records of the cars, and moving vehicles to events and between displays.
• Administrative assistance. These volunteers may help keep records and files, operate office equipment, answer telephone calls, type documents, and do other office-related tasks assigned by a supervisor.
Prospective volunteers can contact Wennstrom, the volunteer coordinator, at jana.wennstrom@lemaymuseum.org and 253-779-8490, extension 1022.

Pat Jenkins, who wrote this article, is the editor of Senior Scene.

Classic automobiles at LeMay-America's Car Museum include the 1948 Tucker that tour guide Bill Simons (in red shirt) talks about with admirers. (Jim Bryant/Senior Scene)
Classic automobiles at LeMay-America’s Car Museum include the 1948 Tucker that tour guide Bill Simons (in red shirt) talks about with admirers. (Jim Bryant/Senior Scene)
Pat Jenkins by — August 15, 2014 in Spotlight

Edward Saylor survived a famous World War II offensive, a crash-landing in the Japan Sea and a harrowing game of cat and mouse with enemy soldiers. His is a tale that’s well-suited for a gathering of military retirees.
The 94-year-old Enumclaw resident will be the featured speaker at the 35th annual Military Retiree Heritage Dinner on June 22 at the McChord Co-located Club. It’s open to retired and active-duty members of all branches of the military, as well as their families and friends.
Organized by the McChord Retirees Activities Office, the semi-formal event will mix dining with camaraderie and nostalgia as memories dating to the WWII era are rekindled.
Saylor’s will be among those. He’s one of four remaining members of the Doolittle Raiders, the name given to 80 men who flew into history on April 18, 1942.
They volunteered for the Air Force mission that involved 16 B-25 bombers led by then-colonel Jimmy Doolittle. They were to take off from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, fly over Japan, drop their bombs and fly on to a safe part of China. The raid was intended to help slow down Japan’s rapidly extending reach across the Pacific in the months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The mission’s ultimate goal was to convince the Japanese high command that its homeland was vulnerable to American attacks and to shift vital resources to its defense. Two months later, that decision had a role in America’s victory in the Battle of Midway, which began turning the tide in the Pacific conflict.
Saylor was an engineer gunner on one of the Doolittle bombers. He and his crewmates dropped their bombs on an aircraft factory and dockyards southwest of Tokyo. Then their part of the mission took a turn for the worse. As recounted in the website doolittleraider.com, the pilot, Lt. Donald Smith, decided to ditch off the coast of China. After a smooth crash-landing on the water, all five crew members made it safely to an island in life rafts and evaded Japanese soldiers who hunted them for several days. They eventually reached the safety of American forces after island residents helped disguise them as Chinese fishermen and smuggled them through a Japanese blockade.
Saylor, a native of Montana, enlisted in 1939 and attended Air Corps Training School at Chanute Field in Illinois before serving throughout World War II. His decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Force Commendation Medal and the Chinese Army, Navy, and Air Corps Medal. After the war, he was an aircraft maintenance officer at bases in Iowa, Washington, Labrador and England. He retired from the Air Force in 1967, ending a 28-year career as a lieutenant colonel.
Organizers of the Military Retiree Heritage Dinner said it’s an honor to have Saylor as the guest speaker. Other special features of the event will include a traditional commemoration of past Retiree Activities Office (RAO) volunteers .
Military members are encouraged to wear their uniform if possible. In past years, uniforms dating to the WWII era and on have appeared, an RAO spokeswoman said.
A social hour will begin at 6:30 p.m., with seating for dinner starting at 7. Reservations are required by June 20 by calling the McChord Club at 253-584-1371. More information is available from the Retiree Activities Office at 253-982-3214

Enumclaw resident Edward Saylor, a member of the legendary Doolittle Raiders of World War II, will be the featured speaker at the Military Retiree Heritage Dinner. (Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr. photo)
Enumclaw resident Edward Saylor, a member of the legendary Doolittle Raiders of World War II, will be the featured speaker at the Military Retiree Heritage Dinner. (Staff Sgt. Vernon Young Jr. photo)
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Pat Jenkins by — May 31, 2013 in Spotlight

Pierce Transit riders will have fewer options for transportation when the agency makes service cuts this September.
Pierce Transit riders will have fewer options for transportation when the agency makes service cuts this September.
Pierce Transit’s plan to eliminate weekend bus runs and some weekday service by this fall as part of a 34 percent reduction in service is worrying bus-depending riders, including seniors.
“It will be a very big deal,” said Ken Gibson, one of the people who is trying to help offset the coming shakeup in public transportation.
Gibson, executive director of TACID (Tacoma Area Coalition of Individuals with Disabilities), is also a member of Citizens Transit Advisory Board, a community-based group commissioned by the Pierce Transit commissioners to work on ways to minimize negative effects of service cuts. No matter what the group and transit officials come up with, “this definitely is going to have an impact,” he said.
Pierce Transit’s Board of Commissioners approved a plan Jan. 14 for the cuts to take effect Sept. 29 in response to voters’ rejection last November of a tax measure that transit officials said was needed to retain full service. Since its action in January, the board has altered the plan by voting Feb. 11 to provide llimited bus service on Saturdays and Sundays. Under the new plan, total service is to be cut 28 percent instead of the original 34 percent, officials said.
The cutbacks could have begun in February, but the board decided to give transit users more time to make alternative plans for transportation that is scheduled to end.
It’s expected that people who depend the heaviest on Pierce Transit transportation and will be most affected include seniors, students and low-income riders in general.
“We understand these reductions will deeply impact thousands in our communities. This was a difficult decision,” said Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland, the transit board chairwoman.
Pierce Transit has been providing a combined 417,000 service hours per year. That number will be reduced to approximately 275,000 by the cuts.
A series of public meetings to discuss the changes and inform riders about exact service cuts will include a hearing that’s scheduled for May.
Overall, the planned reductions include elimination of all Saturday, Sunday and holiday service. On weekdays, there will be less service after 7 p.m. and during mid-day hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Clients of TACID’s Independent Living for Older Adults and Blind/Low Vision Services program are among transit users who could be most affected by the reduced transit services. The program works with individuals, families and caregivers to assure that as people age, they have opportunities to live independently and have the support and resources they need. It’s part of the non-profit organization’s community services focused on the disabled.
Many TACID clients depend on Pierce Transit’s shuttle service. Earlier cuts in that service resulted in a 12 percent reduction of shuttle visits to TACID’s center in Tacoma. “Those were people who were no longer coming to get the services they needed,” Gibson said, adding the next round of cuts will have similar impacts.
“There’s really almost no substitute” for public transportation to meet the needs of people like TACID clients, both seniors and other age groups, Gibson said. “A person with a Social Security income can’t afford a $10 taxi ride,” and rides from relatives or friends aren’t always an alternative.
He said“the vast majority” of 55-and-over clients with low vision or blindness “rely on shuttles,” which will be eliminated wherever bus routes are being dropped. People with doctor appointments may be left without transportation to and from daytime doctor appointments.
In the general election last November, Proposition 1 – placed on the ballot by Pierce Transit to ask for an increase of three-tenths of 1 percent of the sales tax in Pierce County – was narrowly defeated. Had it passed, the additional tax revenue would have boosted funding for transit services.
Only voters living within the transit benefit area could cast ballots on the tax proposal. Communities that are part of the benefit area include Tacoma, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, Lakewood and Sumner.
The same proposed tax increase was also rejected by voters in 2011. Since then, in an effort to lower its operating costs and continue full service, Pierce Transit has cut some spending, raised fares and reduced its number of management employees. Also, bus drivers and other employees agreed to no pay raises in a three-year contract. But ridership rose to record levels, according to transit officials.
If voters had approved Proposition 1 last year,transit officials said, current levels of service would have been saved, and special service – such as routes to high-traffic events like the Washington State Fair in Puyallup that were eliminated in past cutbacks – would have been restored.
Transit officials and supporters of Proposition 1 have said that reduced service hurts people with limited or no other transportation options. Opponents of the measure said many of those same people would be negatively impacted by paying a higher sales tax, and that Pierce Transit should find other ways to meet its desired expenses.
Last September, as a result of some communities in east Pierce County being removed from the transit service area, Pierce Transit eliminated shuttle paratransit service in Sumner, Graham, the South Hill area of Puyallup, and Spanaway. Similar cuts were made near Gig Harbor.

Pat Jenkins by — February 27, 2013 in Everything Else

Tom Faubion is a practicing attorney and senior partner of a law firm in Lakewood when he isn't riding and working the trails. (Jim Bryant/Senior Scene)
Tom Faubion is a practicing attorney and senior partner of a law firm in Lakewood when he isn’t riding and working the trails. (Jim Bryant/Senior Scene)

Almost every weekend, Tom Faubion leaves his Lakewood law office, saddles up and heads into the hills of eastern Pierce County for volunteer duty. That makes him a hero to state officials and fellow wilderness horse riders.

Faubion’s 25-year commitment to developing the horse trails in Elbe Hills State Forest near Mount Rainier has earned undying appreciation and recognition from the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which recently presented him with one of its Volunteer Hero awards.

The honor was presented by state Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark, who heads DNR, during a recreation leadership meeting Dec. 6 in Seattle. Faubion, who lives in Kapowsin, and Bob Langley of Everett were the lone volunteers statewide who received the annual award for what Goldmark called their “sustained service, superior performance, leadership and commitment” to DNR’s volunteer program.

“These Volunteer Heroes inspire the best in all of us. Not only do their actions directly influence the success of the program, but their dedication and sense of service inspire those who have the opportunity to work with them,” Goldmark said.

From Faubion’s perspective, “DNR has been very supportive of all the volunteers and the work we do,” he said.

A member of the Backcountry Horsemen since the 1970s, Faubion and other club members have developed and maintained a horse trail system at Elbe Hills. During thousands of volunteer hours, they have produced “the finest trailhead and trail system in Washington,” he said. “It’s a showplace for anyone wanting to see what can be done through the cooperation of volunteers and the state.”

DNR officials said Faubion is often one of the first to help clear trails of downed trees and debris after storms. On one of his most recent regular visits to the trails, he packed in material for an interpretive center that volunteers are helping build.

Faubion is senior partner in the Lakewood law firm of Faubion, Reeder, Fraley and Cook. He said he always looks forward to his regular weekend forays at Elbe Hills.

DNR picked Langley as a Volunteer Hero for his work on trails in Capitol State Forest, Tahuya State Forest, and Walker Valley. His efforts have included rerouting trails to protect streams and reopening them after storms.

In the first nine months of 2012, volunteers donatd more than 49,000 hours of labor statewide, according to DNR. Goldmark said their effort enhances environmental protection, public safety and overall quality of life for fellow Washingtonians and users of state recreation land.

DNR manages about 3 million acres of state-owned trust lands for revenue to trust beneficiaries, including public schools and universities, as well as public services in several counties. The agency also manages approximately 2.6 million acres of aquatic area, including parts of Puget Sound. Goldmark is the elected head of the department.

Back Country Horsemen of Washington  is a non-profit organization with 35 chapters across the state dedicated to keeping trails open for all users. The group educates horse users in “leave no traces” for trail use, and is an advocate of volunteer service to government agencies.

The group is networked with Backcountry Horsemen of America, which has members in 25 other states.

Pat Jenkins by — January 29, 2013 in Spotlight