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Volunteer Spotlight
Roberta Martell & Bob Howie
Roberta & Bob’s Story
I grew up in a small town in Nova Scotia and after teaching elementary school for a short time I migrated to the other side of the country. Most of my working career was in the Vancouver BC area as a member of the Federal Public Service.
In the summer of 2000, I saw an ad on TV about Calgary Meals on Wheels and thought “why not”. I was fortunate enough to be retired so I had the time. More importantly, my Mom was an aging senior on the East Coast who could potentially benefit from this type of service and since I couldn’t be there maybe I could assist others here.
After being indoctrinated in the “Downtown Core Routes” I settled into a NE route with an amazing partner, Peter Maitland. It was like spending 2 hours every Thursday with my Dad. Peter and I often got a little lost – we didn’t have “Google Maps” and Saddletown Circle and Metis Trail were just being constructed. Sadly, we lost Peter but I was able to continue with our NE route.
In addition to the regular route, I was able to participate in other Meals on Wheels adventures: information booths at community events, Gala Fundraisers with silent auctions, Cookie Kitchen at South Center Mall, Casino fundraiser (always the count room until 3 AM). As my husband Bob was still working, he joined in these events whenever possible. Although you never do it for the accolades, I was honored to receive the Patricia Bourne Memorial Award in 2009.
A native Calgarian, Bob spent his career in the public service as well. First as a Calgary Police Officer for 27 years, then 26 years as a Sheriff with the Calgary Courts, primarily in the Family and Youth area. Once he finally retired, he became my partner in our Routes 406 and 410.
We continue to be involved because we feel we are contributing in some small way to make life more manageable for our clients. We love to see that little smile, nod or wave when we show up.
Other things that give us joy are of course our family, friends, grandchildren (2) and travelling whenever we can.
To take a line out of an old Tom Cruise movie – we believe “we are an effective team.”