Volunteer

I am deeply honored to be recognized by the UCSD Retirement Association as Volunteer of the Year, 2024. Growing up in Monterey, California, there was always a strong neighborhood support from my parents and neighbors to reach my educational goals. Being from a first-generation Chinese family, I was the first one to go to college; my brother would soon follow, as well as my cousins. After going to Monterey Peninsula College for the first 2 years, I then transferred to UC Berkeley and received a degree in Biochemistry. My mother always told me “People always get sick. Try to find a job in a hospital.” So, like any Chinese American daughter, I listened to my mother. After working for a couple of years as a research assistant, I applied to pharmacy school and was accepted at UC San Francisco.

While working at a small hospital during school as an intern, I immediately was drawn to hospital pharmacy. After graduation, I applied for Pharmacy Residency programs in both Northern and Southern California. The program at UCSD was a perfect match for me. Luckily, UCSD Department of Pharmacy, also thought the same and I was offered a place in their program. As life would have it, I left the Bay Area in 1987, and have lived here ever since. Opportunities in hospital pharmacy was so diverse. Throughout my career, I met so many gifted and truly inspirational people; from selfless nurses, amazing physicians, and talented pharmacy and healthcare staff, it truly was a priceless journey.  

When I retired in 2018, my journey continued with UCSD, as member of the Retirement Association. My first encounter with Suzan Cioffi, Director of the Retirement Resource Center at that time, was just to get email forwarding service. Little did I know that this new road would take me to become an Emeriti Mentor for Chancellor's Scholars, a UCSD Retirement Association Board Member, and a UCSD Emeriti Association Executive Committee Member. I have also met so many from the campus side of UCSD. Working on the Program Committee was so much fun because I got to share my enthusiasm of food, local neighborhoods, and other interests with other RA members. Most of all, being an Emeriti Mentor is the most rewarding experience because it takes me back to when I was just developing my own journey. I just want to end by saying UCSD is truly is a special organization.  

At the Spring 2023 Luncheon at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse on March 15th, the UCSD Retirement Association had the pleasure of recognizing and celebrating this year’s Volunteer of the Year, Sue Dreier. Ever since she first became active with the RA in her second year of retirement, she has been a dynamo! Jumping in right away as a Food Demo presenter, members got a chance to discover Sue’s love of Cajun food and music. When asked to join the RA Board the following year, she happily agreed. A natural leader, Sue did a masterful job in all of her roles as Vice President (Chair of the Program Committee), President, and Past President. Sue always had lots of ideas for new programs and was always willing to volunteer to spearhead several of the programs the program committee was investigating before deciding to put them in place. Sue also made a huge contribution to the RA by beginning (and continuing for many years now) the RA Walks (fitness walks) program, which brings out many members to make active walking and hiking a regular part of their retirement. Always the perfectionist, Sue walks each walk beforehand, in order to correctly state the time, exact geo-location starting point and any issues of grade or stairs that members should be aware of in our advertising. Below is Sue Dreier’s RA story, in her own words. Congratulations, Sue, as our newest Volunteer of the Year. And thank you for all you do for the RA! Read more below…

“I first came to UCSD as a Pharmacy Resident in 1980. After finishing my residency training, I left for a year, but returned in 1982 as the investigational pharmacist. Over the years I picked up more leadership responsibilities: the inaugural manager of the Pharmacy Home Infusion Service, the Coordinator of Pharmacy Support Services and eventually Assistant Director of Pharmacy. When I retired in 2011, I joined the UCSD RA but was too busy to participate much; devoting the first year of my retirement to addressing all the household issues I had ignored while I was working. Each week I taught three Nia classes (a mind/body workout and lifestyle practice) at the YMCA and volunteered as a Laughter Yoga leader at Rachel's House, a homeless women's shelter downtown. My only open day was Friday, the day of the monthly food demo. I attended a food demo and immediately said “I can do that” and was signed up for the next year. Next thing I knew I was on the RA Board, Vice President, President, Past President, and then Board member again.

During my working years, as the only pharmacist willing to supervise volunteers, I was grateful recipient of many volunteer labors. I will be eternally grateful to the widow who spent her Christmas Day volunteering with us, to the numerous college students who wanted to see if pharmacy was a good career choice for them, to the army of pharmacy technicians seeking more experience, and to many others. It took me a while to realize it was a win—win for all. The volunteers were not just giving but also receiving. I also found my involvement with the UCSD RA also be a win—win. I truly believe that a healthy lifestyle and social connections keep us alive (in every sense of that word). I have found my involvement with the UCSD RA, its Board of Directors, its committees, its support staff, and its events a way to meet new friends and reconnect with old friends. RA programs are a great way to discover and explore interesting places and programs. The program committee plans many of those programs. I have found it great fun to brainstorm with others who have different backgrounds, experiences, and talents; but similar curiosity and motivation. I initiated “let’s take a walk” to find walking companions who also want to explore unique, and often beautiful, areas of San Diego County. Despite having no art background, as a volunteer docent for the UCSD Stuart Art Collection I have been able to learn about contemporary art and am invited to attend wonderful art openings.

So, I invite you to share your talents and volunteer in whatever way works for you. You will receive as much (if not more) than you give.” Sue Dreier.

Donna Mulcahy, a UC San Diego alumna and Chancellor’s Scholar, earned her B.A. in Linguistics. Immediately after graduating, she began programming in FORTRAN. Donna worked in the private sector in the computing field for several years. Upon returning to UCSD as an employee in 1995, she rediscovered her love of training, and was instrumental in the development of UCSD's  web-based training for the campus financial systems. In 2013, just before she retired, the web-based training program saved   the campus over $1.3 million in staff salaries that would have been spent on in-person classes.

Donna loves cooking, sewing, beading, reading, and crafting of all sorts. Donna has been a regular contributor as an artist for the RA’s Art & Music Soirees, twice as an artist and always as a skilled and artistic presenter of food on the delicious buffets of hors d’oeuvres and sweet treats.  She was also always quick to volunteer for all other RA outreach events such as our Holiday Open Houses, which we hope to bring back again this year.

While we have been providing all of our program VIRTUALLY Donna has made a name for herself as a talented Food Demo presenter, mixing wonderful background cultural information and anecdotes with her delicious recipes. If you have missed Donna’s food demo presentations, you can find them on the RA YouTube channel, where you are sure to be delighted.

Another of Donna’s skill is knitting! Donna has been one of the RA’s most productive knitters of beautiful little caps for the preemie babies at UCSD Health. She has delivered many bags of these colorful knitted caps to us over the past two years and we have passed them on to effusive thank you’s in the NICU.

Donna has served on the RA Board of Directors for the past three years, where she has been an active participant in the RA Program Committee, which is responsible for creating many of RA’s fun & interesting activities.

But Donna really found her love when she became a mentor in the EA Emeriti Mentor Program in 2016. Her knowledge and skills in the field of computer programming are matched by her devotion to her mentees and to the network of connections on the UCSD campus, which have served her well when connecting her mentees with campus computing learning opportunities. One of her mentees said:

Congratulations, Donna, for this important award! We are so proud of all you have given to the RA, UCSD, and its students!

Suzan Cioffi

Sending my sincere congratulations to Donna for receiving this award! Donna's support and guidance has helped me get through many of the obstacles  I faced during my first year of college and eased countless of my worries. It's an honor being under her supervision and I greatly appreciate her mentorship. Congratulations!     -- Sara Bailouni, Chancellor's Scholar

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2018 - 2019 is: Henry Powell. This year at the RA Spring Volunteer Luncheon, we surprised our exemplary volunteer, Professor Henry Powell, with the news that he was the recipient of the UCSD Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award. We would like to introduce Professor Henry Powell to our members.

Nancy Groves received her Masters in Counseling from San Diego State University. After serving some 40 years at UCSD, with her last position as Dean of Academic Advising at Revelle College, she retired in 2004. In her post-retirement years, Nancy has remained extremely active in service to the UCSD Retirement Association and the university. 

Nancy has served as an active mentor in the UCSD Emeriti Mentor for several years now, sharing the wealth of her UCSD experience and guidance with young scholars. Ms. Groves has been one of the RA’s longest serving board members, since 2008. Ms. Groves was a regular board member for two years, then became Vice President and then President for 2011-2012. Following a year as Past President, Ms. Nancy Groves served again as President, from 2013-2014, to fill a vacancy left by a departing VP. Shen then served again as Past President. Since 2015, Nancy has been the Oceanids representative to the Retirement Association Board. But Nancy’s service to the RA has not ended with Board service and mentoring.  Every time the RA has hosted a major event, for Open Houses to Art & Music Soirees and BBQs, Nancy has been there to pitch in with event set up and clean up. Her service to the university extends beyond the RA as well. Nancy has been one of the key coordinators handling the nomination and induction of nominees into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society at UCSD.

Nancy is always delighted to dedicate her time to the Retirement Association.

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2018 - 2019 is: Henry Powell. This year at the RA Spring Volunteer Luncheon, we surprised our exemplary volunteer, Professor Henry Powell, with the news that he was the recipient of the UCSD Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award. We would like to introduce Professor Henry Powell to our members.

Henry Powell is a Professor Emeritus at UC San Diego. He received his doctorate in medicine from the University College in Dublin in 1970. He then went on to complete a rotating internship at Philadelphia General Hospital and residency at UC San Diego. Professor Powell is a distinguished world authority in neuropathology with an emphasis on peripheral neuropathologies. He has trained numerous successful fellows who have gone on to achieve great things. Professor Powell has published over 200 articles. 

At his time here at UC San Diego, Professor Powell sought to expand educational opportunities to all students of merit, and especially those from less privileged backgrounds. Since retiring in 2018, Henry has been an active mentor to the Chancellor's Scholars and Emeriti Mentor Programs. He served as the Chair of the Emeriti Mentor Program for two years, from 2017 – 2019.

In addition to his exemplary service as a mentor for the Emeriti Mentor Program, in the last three years, Professor Powell has stood out as an exemplary volunteer for the UCSD Retirement Association. He has singlehandedly prepared and presented a large body of fascinating lectures for the RA, including two lectures on the History of the Unversity of California, three different presentations on BREXIT,  a variety of International Films, and for two years Henry presented the Face the Music series to RA classical music afficionados. 

After having received the award at the festive Spring Luncheon event, Professor Powell wrote to us to say: "I would like to thank the UCSD Retirement Association for the invitation to lunch, the opportunity to speak and the award, which touched me deeply." 

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2017 - 2018 is: Annie Townsend. This year at the RA Spring Volunteer Luncheon, we surprised our exemplary volunteer, Annie Townsend, with the news that she was the recipient of the UCSD Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award. We would like to introduce Annie to our members.

“I was very surprised and honored when my name was announced. Truthfully, I was shocked, in a good way of course! It never occurred to me that my contributions to the Retirement Association over the last four years were significant enough for me to be nominated and recognized for this honor from the many other volunteers in the RA.

       I began my career at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO)/UCSD in 1972.  I worked there for more than 39 years. I had the privilege of working with many remarkable scientists and graduate students worldwide from the oceanography community. I spent the first half of my career at SIO working as a Staff Research Association in the Marine Life Research Group where I conducted research on euphausiids (krill). The second half of my career was spent managing the Pelagic Invertebrates Collection (PIC), world’s largest whole zooplankton collection, where I was the Museum Scientist/Collection Manager. During my tenure at SIO I was a mentor to undergrad students and consulted with other researchers on “krill”.  I also participated in several research expeditions.

       Upon retirement in 2010, I continued to work part-time and volunteered for three additional years in the Pelagic Invertebrates Collection. While at SIO I made lifelong friends and had many wonderful co-workers.

       After retirement I joined the UCSD Retirement Association, mainly to keep in touch with my fellow retirees and enjoy the many benefits and programs that came with the membership. In 2014, I was nominated to become a Retirement Association Board member as a retiree from Scripps.  My initial response was, “let me think about it”.  As I am a rather shy person who prefers the background to the spotlight and I was not sure if I would be able to make a worthy contribution as a board member. With the encouragement of my family, I ultimately said ‘yes’ and accepted the position on the board.  The decision to serve as a board member on the RA Board has been one of the most gratifying decisions I made in retirement. The past four-plus years working with the amazing people on the Retirement Association Board has been an incredible honor. I have been richly rewarded for my participation on the board and program committee. It has greatly impacted my life in a positive way.

       In addition to volunteering at the Retirement Association, I enjoy spending quality time with family. My husband, Lorenzo and I moved to San Diego from Huntsville, AL in 1971.  We have two adult children, Jessica and David and we live in Spring Valley. I also like to spend time with friends, taking long walks with our dog Rocco, traveling, reading and gardening.  I serve on the board of our HOA and landscape committee. In retirement, I also continue to contribute to an online website, “Euphausiids of the World Ocean”.

       I would like to thank the committee that selected me to receive the UCSD Retirement Association Volunteer of the year for 2018; I am deeply honored and appreciative of this award.”

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2016 - 2017 is: Rich Belmontez. This year at the RA Spring Volunteer Luncheon, we surprised our exemplary volunteer, Rich Belmontez with the news that he was the recipient of the UCSD Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award. We would like to introduce Rich to our members.
“My surprise on receiving this year’s VOTY award on March 22nd was visceral and the acknowledgment is appreciated.

It has been an amazing ride being part of the Retirement Association and especially as a member of the Board- I get to surround myself with dedicated and high-energy folks who do wonderful things and have fun along the way. We live in all parts of the County and we worked in various departments so our collective knowledge and interests are vast. I don’t kn ow if the interactions keep us young or just distracted with sufficient joy that we hardly notice the marching of time.

Volunteerism runs in my family at least with my hyper-active schoolteacher kid sister and me. First memories of helping others for little or no practically no money tracks back to childhood. My mother would allow us to accompany her on visit nursing homes and while there I would do little kid things to assist. The opportunity provided lessons in humility, life circumstance appreciation, mortality and the hope that my aged relatives would never be institutionalized. From late elementary school through much of high school my family lived in the countryside near Youngstown, Ohio. I helped on the nearby farm sometimes for a dollar a day. When they had teenage foster children there was someone else to do chores; I would still help and at the same time make a friend. Plus pitching in meant we could leave earlier to go hiking, looking for arrowheads or fishing. Having friends that were in the foster care system also gave me time to reflect about my own life turbulence that, if it weren’t for extended relatives helping to keep the family together, might have ended in similar situations. The farmhouse matron made the best fresh liver and onions and could always feed one more mouth.

The US Navy had a very integrated program that encouraged volunteering that resulted in direct benefits in the form of liberty cards, positive leadership attention, flexible work schedule and credit towards promotion. My command in Great Lakes, IL sponsored Operation Dixie Cup which provided positive attention to kids at childrens hospital. Being a mystery shopper here in San Diego allowed feedback on operations of the base exchange, and as ceremonial guard I was additionally schooled on immaculate dress and good posture. UCSD and especially the Medical Center was an extremely smooth transition for me because of the relatively tight confines, mission-driven environment and work-supplementing opportunities. Everyone was my customer so being on committees provided another way to build relationships with key decision makers, allowed me to better understand institutional needs and it enhanced my knowledge of available resources.

My post-work life includes San Diego community involvement and much of it involves atrisk children. Part of my exercise regime is hiking with Sierra Club/Inspiring Connections Outdoors that partners with area charter schools and provides safe yet ‘wild’ exposure to the nature that surrounds our urban hubs. Administrative and protocol skills continue to be honed through my role as a court appointed special advocate (CASA) for children in the foster care system. Retiring, signing up as a lifetime UCSD Retirement Association member AND letting Suzan know I liked meetings naturally led to a cornucopia of opportunities. I thoroughly enjoy continuing to learn, helping out and making friends.”

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2015 - 2016 is: Betty Garbutt.

This year at the RA Spring Volunteer Luncheon, we surprised our exemplary volunteer, Betty Garbutt with the news that she was the recipient of the UCSD Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award. We would like to introduce Betty to our members.

“I want to thank everyone for the great honor in awarding me the Volunteer of 2016 for the UCSD RA. This was a very unexpected but truly appreciated surprise.

As I ponder the activities that I have been able to experience since joining the organization it occurs to me that it is a long way from the child who grew up on a farm in North Yorkshire. Those early memories were shaped by the Second World War hiding under furniture during the bombing raids and keeping the house dark at all times at night. After the war it was an idyllic place for an only child to be and be nurtured by parents who both had a love of animals.

I chose nursing as a career and trained in Harrogate in Yorkshire and subsequently went on to train as a Nurse Midwife working in Edinthenburgh, Scotland. At that time my father was diagnosed with cancer and I came home to send the last year with him.

After his death everyone expected me to stay at the local hospital and work there but that did not appeal to me so I decided to apply to come to the USA. I had a colleague who had married a man in the Air Force and they had been stationed at Cherry Point N.C. so they put me in touch with them and they became my sponsors to come to the USA. I applied to Cornell and Columbia Presbyterian hospitals and liked the letter better from Cornell, so made my decision to join them in New York city and during my time there I changed from a country girl to a city girl!

My plan was to stay two years and Edinthen go to Australia but, as with many people who love their new country and all it’s vast experiences, I am still here after forty nine years! I moved to Orange County to join my sponsor during the time her husband was in Vietnam and answered a job in the newspaper working in nursing for a Pharmaceutical company and they moved me to Atlanta. I eventually went to work for the Department of Health in Nashville and spent twelve great years in nursing there and also developing a Nurse Midwifery service there in Tennessee.

I was then recruited to go to develop a program in Maternal Health in Sioux Falls and stayed there for two years before my mother became ill and I returned to the UK to be with her. After her death I came back to Nashville where I still have strong roots and friends and my “adopted’ family. It is a long story to tell how I came to San Diego but again, like many others , I came for a limited period of time twenty seven years ago and this where I will spend the rest of my life.

UCSD has become a very special place for me and the Retirement Assn is very much part of my affection for this place and time in my life. Again I want to thank everyone who has made that to be such a treasured time for me."

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2014 - 2015 is: Jerry Vaughn.

This year at the RA Spring Volunteer Luncheon, we surprised our exemplary volunteer, Jerry Vaughn with the news that he was the recipient of the UCSD Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award. We would like to introduce Jerry to our members.

"I grew up on a farm/ranch in Eastern Colorado where my father raised wheat, corn barley, cattle and hogs with a smidgen of other crops and critters. When people talk about how small their graduating class was I always laugh – K through 12 at my school was about 80 students.

After graduating from Northeastern Junior College with a degree in applied electronics, I enlisted in the Navy where I spent 10 years, mostly on fast attack submarines, as a reactor operator. While on shore duty I attended San Diego State University part time and, after leaving the Navy, returned there and graduated with a degree in computer science.

I started my career at UCSD while finishing my degree working at the Hillcrest hospital in the pulmonary division. If you have ever done the breath test where they tell you to blow! blow! blow! – I helped write one of the first computerized versions of that. After a year I moved to the Human Subjects Research Lab where the primary focus was on evaluating equipment for medical equipment companies such as ventilators, oximeters, and metabolic monitors in a patient environment. Programming, statistics, data management and engineering were useful skills for that task.

After about 5 years Dr. Dave Burns, the principal investigator I was working for, was selected to be the scientific editor for the Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health and my focus slowly changed to the health effects of tobacco. At 10 years, a new group was formed by Dave and we moved to the division of Family and Preentive Medicine with the entire focus on tobacco and health issues associated with its use.

My volunteer work also related to tobacco as I served as a member and chair of the San Diego Tobacco Control Coalition, as a member and chair of the San Diego Youth Task Force, as a volunteer for the American Lung Association and as a member of the San Diego Department of Health Services Tobacco Control Grant Review Committee.

During that time we were under contract with the state of California and the National Institutes of Health for state level and national level monographs relating to tobacco and health. The topics ranged from determining the most effective smoking cessation methods to how to prevent youth uptake as well modeling smoking related diseases to aid in forecasting health and financial benefits of cessation and reduced uptake.

In 2007 after 25 plus years, I decided I was not busy enough so I retired and started pursing other interests including photography, travel, volunteering my software skills to non-profits, just plain old learning, tinkering in electronics (which lead to me getting my HAM license) and enjoying the family.

Jerry and his wife Alice are two mainstays in the center of the RA Gazette Groupies, the group of members who, every month come out to volunteer a few hours to assist us with Gazette post-production. But, in addition to his years of service to the RA in this area, Jerry stepped up and provided extraordinary service over the last year. We have wanted to put together a new tracking system for our Chancellor's Scholars Program, which is maturing nicely, with eight years of students moving through our mentoring and communications and leadership development programs. We wanted a unique CSP database which would keep all student data neatly sorted and allow us to better report on the programs successes. Jerry took on this challenge, and for a many months, analyzed, programmed, tested and debugged an entirely new system, tailored especially for the CSP. Jerry came in to fix and tweak the new system so frequently for a while, that it felt like he was part of the RRC staff! Our new system is all finished, quite an achievement for Jerry, and for the RRC.

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2013 - 2014 is: Dr. Marguerite Jackson.

This year at the RA Spring Volun-teer Luncheon, we surprised our exemplary volunteer, Dr. Margue-rite Jackson, with the news that she was the recipient of the UCSD Re-tirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award. We would like to introduce her to our members.

In 2006, then RA Board member, Suzanne Anderson suggested that we tap Dr. Jackson, to fill a Board vacancy. Suzanne promised that Dr. Jackson was an amazing dynamo, who would do great things for the RA. She was absolutely right! After just months on the Board, the RA Nominating Committee put forward Marguerite to serve as Secretary, then VP, and President. Marguerite served as President for two terms, from 2008 to 2010 -- one of only five presidents in the 31 year history of the RA to serve two terms. She has since continued on the Board as the RA's representative to CUCRA, the Council of UC Retirement Assns. Dr. Jackson also took on the exacting role of Secretary for this statewide org, which represents retiree inter-ests to the Univ. of CA. She served as CUCRA Secretary for three years.

In addition her official duties on behalf of the RA, her creative side has also come into play. If you have ever been to any of our many lovely events at the Center (Open House, art shows, Art & Music Soirees, etc., you may have noticed some of Mar-guerite's contributions. She likes to sew and does beautiful embroidery work, and over the years has sewn and embroidered all of the table cloths, napkins, and runners which we use for special events. Moreo-ver, Marguerite is the consummate hostess, and has assisted the RA with countless artistic displays of hors d'oeuvres for events, from the statewide CUCRA reception in the Spring of 2006, to the art show re-ceptions and Open Houses. She has carted many of her beautiful serving items to the Center, and back home again, and she has prepared many a delectable treat for our buffets.

And as if this weren't enough, Dr. Jackson serves as a devoted mentor to numerous Chancellor's Scholars in the UCSD Emeriti Mentor Program. I'm sure you will all agree, Dr. Marguerite Jackson is a very worthy Volunteer of the Year! Thank you, Marguerite, for your amazing service! Suzan Cioffi

"I have been a volunteer for all of my adult life. In college, I volunteered with the campus chapel; as a young faculty wife, I volunteered with the fac-ulty club; and as a novice infection control nurse, I volunteered with the local chapter of APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology) as a way to get to know others in the field. I started out as chapter secretary, and through nation-al APIC, ended up working as a volun-teer with the Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention to help establish innovative policies and procedures to reduce risks for infection in patients and health care workers. So it was just logical that I would volunteer with the Retirement Assn. when it was time for me to retire from UCSD after 27 years of service. In fact, I joined the RA a few months prior to retirement. Soon after I joined, I was "recruited" to serve on the RA Board of Directors and then moved into administrative posi-tions, including Secretary, President-elect, and President (2 terms). I am now serving as the UCSD Retire-ment Assn.'s representative to CUCRA, where I have just com-pleted a 3-year term as Secretary (there seems to be a pattern here!)

I started working at UCSD Medical Center in 1977 and man-aged the Medical Center Epidemi-ology Unit for about 20 years. Dur-ing that time I also went back to school to complete my PhD -- it took 10 years but I finally finished it in 1995. Subsequently, I was in-vited to rebuild the Department of Nursing Education, Development and Research (after the Hunter Group got rid of almost all of the positions in 1996) and a few years later took over managing staff de-velopment for the entire Medical Center complex. When I retired in 2003, I was invited to manage an NIH contract (part-time) for the School of Medicine. This was back when retirees could return to work 46% time for an indefinite period. The NIH funding ran out in 2010 and by then I was ready to be a full-time retiree! My hobbies include gourmet cooking, sewing, and travel with my husband, my sister, or a group of college friends. I like to take at least two big trips (2-3 weeks) each year. I also enjoy mentoring young women and have mentored 17 Preuss seniors over the last 8 years. I attended the Stanford graduation for my "super star" Preuss mentee in June. I now mentor 3 UCSD students through the Emeriti Mentoring program. My greatest joy, however, is my two grandchildren. Grace Eloise Jackson is 4 and Crawford Gardner Jackson IV is 2. They live in Orange County and I spend as much time as I can with them. Their dad is my only child and he waited a long time to marry. That makes me, at 70, an old grandma with young grandkids!

I look forward to many more productive years as a volunteer with the Retirement Association and am grateful and honored to be recognized as the Volunteer of the Year."

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2012 - 2013 is: Mary Crawford.

This year at the RA Spring Volunteer Luncheon at the Bayside Holiday Inn, we surprised our long-time volunteer, Mary Crawford, with the news that she was the recipient of the UCSD Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award.

We would like to introduce this super-volunteer to the rest of our members. Mary has been active in RA volunteer efforts since she retired from UCSD in 1990.

Born in Buffalo, New York, Mary followed close childhood friends to California, fell in love with San Diego's lovely weather and beautiful beaches, and decided to make it her new home. She punctuated her 5-year work experience with Convair Astronautics with two, year-long stays in Germany and Austria, returning to San Diego to pursue a new job, this time at UCSD. She served Don Wilkie, then Director of the Birch Aquarium, as his Executive Assistant for 8 years, and then went on to responsible positions in Construction & Building Operations, Parking Enforcement and Student Health. She retired from her 25- year career at UCSD in 1990.

Having dabbled in the arts since her childhood, Mary's artistic tendencies flourished in retirement, with cultivation of her craft through a variety of local art classes. Members will be able to enjoy Mary's watercolors at the 2nd Annual RA Spring Art Show & Sale, and throughout the summer months, as she will be the RA Featured Artist for Summer Quarter. In addition to art, Mary is happiest when generously giving of her time and boundless smiles to her main volunteer commitments - the USS Midway, where she volunteers twice a week, and of course to the UCSD Retirement Assn!

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2011 - 2012 is: Dennis Beeson.

This year at the Volunteer Luncheon at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse, we surprised our long-time volunteer, Dennis Beeson, with the news that he was the recipient of the UCSD Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award.

We would like to introduce this super-volunteer to the rest of our members. Dennis has been at the center of the UCSD Retirement Association’s volunteer efforts for the past eight years. We have past-Association Treasurer, Zoe Rose to thank for enthusiastically suggesting Dennis Beeson to the Nominating Committee for a new Director position on the RA Board. Dennis accepted his first RA Board appointment in 2005, where he jumped right in as a very active and effective Chair of the Volunteer Committee. After his initial two-year Board term (‘05 to ‘07), Dennis stayed active on the RA Volunteer Committee, stepping forward to participate in and lead just about every major RA volunteer effort, including (just to name few!): the Annual Service Awards prep and registration desk, Core Cell Vendor Fair, Staff Association Picnic, RA Picnic setup, Middle Management Advance, Administrative Professional Development Conference, Campus Benefits Fair, International Café, Spring Luncheon decorations, and Annual Luncheon setup. On top of all of that volunteer service, Dennis stepped forward yet again in 2011, for Sharecase, organizing the RA volunteer effort, and helping RA volunteers to shine at this major campus event. Dennis is serving another two-year term on the RA Board, this time as Treasurer of the Association. And we are so pleased that Dennis has agreed to serve as the Event Cashier for the next major RA event, the upcoming Retirement Association Spring Art Show & Sale, set for May 31.

If you see Dennis at a future RA event, be sure to thank him for all he does for our members and our university.

Dennis serves as a role model helping the UCSD Retirement Association to advance one of its key missions, to contribute to the university and the community, and to help make both a better place within which all of us can thrive. Thank you, Dennis, for your exemplary service, and Congratulations!

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipients of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2010 - 2011 are: Dorothy and Michael Kane.

This year at the Volunteer Luncheon at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse, we surprised two of our long-time volunteers - Dorothy and Michael Kane - with the news that they were the co-recipients of the UCSD Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award. We would like to introduce these two super-volunteers to the rest of our members. Here’s their story:

We came to San Diego from the New Jersey shore in 1969. In January 1976, Dorothy was hired by Margaret Sullivan at the Registrar's Office while Michael attended Revelle College. In January 1979, Dorothy was hired by Gwen Cooper as an Evaluator for the Undergraduate Admissions Office. In 1995 she became Assistant Director of Admissions for about ten years. Because of the stresses of Multiple Sclerosis she stepped down from that position and became an in-house admissions counselor until 2006 when she retired.

Michael graduated from Revelle College in 1978 with a degree in Anthropology. He then attended UCSD graduate school for a while until he was hired by Mae Brown in 1980 as an Academic Advisor at what was then Third College (now Thurgood Marshall College). Michael loved working at TMC, but decided to retire with Dorothy in early 2006.

They married (in Las Vegas) in 1970; their son was born at Scripps Hospital on 1981. They travel back to their old home town in New Jersey every year to see relatives and friends and enjoy the beach there.

Retirement is very good. Dorothy loves her monthly library book club, doing daily yoga and weekly MS yoga classes. Michael enjoys walking the neighborhood several times a day, and is the neighborhood watch man as well as one of the fire-watch people for our community in Rancho Penasquitos. His hobby of making canes from found tree branches means that everyone he knows will get a cane if they need or want one. Michael needs to use a cane because of his accident several years ago when he fell off of a ladder and crushed his heel. Monthly lunches with a group of our UCSD friends/retirees is always fun.

Both Dorothy and Michael thoroughly enjoy volunteering as Gazette Groupies for the Retirement Association and feel that being considered Volunteers of the Year is just icing on the cake.

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipients of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2009 - 2010 are: Don and Pat Wilkie.

This year at the Volunteer Luncheon at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse, we surprised two of our long-time volunteers - Don and Pat Wilkie - with the news that they were the co-recipients of the UCSD Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year Award.

Don Wilkie has played a critically- important leadership role with the Association for more than ten years, first as Vice President and then President (in 1999- 2000). After his term as President, Don was named to the significant position of UCSD RA’s representative to CUCRA (the Council of UC Retirement Associations), where he has served for the last ten years. His role has been pivotal in keeping RA members apprised of system-wide developments that could potentially impact retirees, and has faithfully carried our Board’s point of view back to CUCRA.

Pat Wilkie also has many, many years of volunteer service to the RA. She has served as the keen eye on the other side of the camera, taking photographs at most principal RA events for the last ten years.

The Retirement Association owes a huge debt of gratitude to these two wonderful volunteers, who have so generously given their time to our group.

Don grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, where he earned his BS in Zoology and MS in Ichthyology (the study of fish). From Canadian Junior High School Coach, Don moved up the career ladder to eventually become the Director of UCSD’s Birch Aquarium, a post he held for some 30 years. Wilke’s most noteworthy accomplishment at SIO was the building of the new Stephen Birch Aquarium Museum for which he developed the conceptual design—the mission, space allocation and function requirements. Don has three children, Linda, Davy and Suzanne— VP Employment Agency, Computer Engineer and High School teacher, respectively. He also has five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Pat Wilkie graduated from La Jolla High School, where she was a cheerleader! She enjoyed a career in appliance sales. Pat and Don have been married some thirty years. Pat’s son is currently teaching English in Sao Paolo, Brazil!

Pat’s idea of fun is curling up with a great book, is an avid gardener, and dog-lover (Don says “dog-spoiler”). She’s also trying her hand at a new sport… fly-fishing!

We’re so fortunate to have great volunteers like these. Congratulations Don and Pat Wilkie!

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2008 - 2009 is: Nona Crampton.

Five years ago, Nona Crampton stepped up to the plate and assumed the position of Treasurer for the UCSD Retirement Association, a position she has faithfully and diligently carried out since 2004. Two years ago, when the UCSD Emeriti Association moved into the new Retirement Resource Center alongside the Retirement Association, Nona cheerily volunteered to extend her bookkeeping services to that association as well. She has helped ensure the fiscal stability and accurate financial reporting of both associations, always content to carry out her work outside of the limelight. Well the limelight caught up with Nona at the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon on March 18th, where she was warmly celebrated as the 2009 Retirement Association’s Volunteer of the Year.

In addition to her laudable service as Treasurer, Nona is also a regular committee member of the Volunteer Committee, and has volunteered for every key association event, from Sharecase to the Health and Welfare Expo, from the Career Connections Awards Ceremony to the International Café, from the Core Cell Vendor Fair to Middle Management Seminars, Nona has worked tirelessly, and always with a smile, at each of these volunteer events.

Nona grew up in San Diego, learning her life-long character traits of community service, hard-work and discipline while attending parochial school, and graduated from San Diego High. Nona began garnering her more than fifty years of professional experience as a bookkeeper with Pacific Telephone in 1957. Nona joined UCSD in 1962, and enjoyed a long and successful career managing everyone’s money, and advancing from a humble beginning as a Senior Typist Clerk to the SIO Director’s Office, where, as a Principal Analyst II she managed the staff as well as the budget!

Since retiring from UCSD, Nona has returned to serve several times in the Birch Aquarium, SIO Director’s Office, Department of Biology and University Extension. And as if she is not busy enough, Nona is a regular volunteer for the International Center’s Resale Shop, and Treasurer for her Condo Association. She still finds time for to participate in the lives of her two sons, one grandson and two great nephews! She is an avid reader and is active in a philanthropic sorority.

Congratulations Nona!

We would like to share with all of our members, the two recipients of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2008 are: Phyllis Specht and Paul Walters.

Relatively new additions to the volunteer force that makes the Association’s Volunteer Program one of the largest and most active in the UC system, Phyllis Specht and Paul Walters joined two and three years ago respectively, with determination to make a big difference, and a work ethic and commitment that proved to be very fruitful for the Association. Phyllis has led the Volunteer Committee for three years while Paul has chaired the Membership Committee for two. In addition to their duties as chair of two of the most active RA committees, they could always be found assisting with all of the RA Volunteer Projects — from Sharecase to the Benefits Faire, from the Career Connections Awards Ceremony to the International Café, from the Core Cell Vendor Fair to Middle Management Seminars, Phyllis and Paul worked tirelessly, and always with a smile, at each of these volunteer events. Phyllis and Paul went above and beyond the call of duty though, when it came to membership outreach to the Medical Center. The RA had an objective of increasing membership from retirees from the Med Center and Health Sciences. To achieve this objective, Phyllis and Paul took turns staffing a membership outreach table at the Med Center and at Thornton Hospital every other month for the last two years. Their drive and commitment to the goal of increasing Med Center retiree membership and participation in the RA has had concrete results, helping to drive the RA membership up to its current impressive total of 950 members, with a significant increase in the number of Med Center and Health Sciences retirees. We laud them for their initiative and drive, and believe that the RA is much stronger with a more even representation of membership from the Med Center, Health Sciences, SIO and Campus.

Phyllis Specht:
Phyllis was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she lived until graduation from High School. Phyllis attended a girl's college in Leavenworth, Kansas. After graduation, and a Laboratory Science internship, off she went to California for the Big Adventure. Many years and labs later, Phyllis and family moved to San Diego. In 1968, Phyllis began her UCSD employment at Hillcrest, in the evening shift at the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory. Later, Phyllis transferred from Microbiology to Hematology and worked in that department for an additional 13 years on the graveyard shift. After a successful 25-year career in UCSD’s labs, Phyllis retired in 1993, looking forward to relaxing, reading and listening to music. Unfortunately, a family crisis intervened Phyllis and family manage to spend quality time together, with her children living close by. She and husband Klaus enjoy road trips with friends, or fly home to Honolulu to visit family. Phyllis is very active, and enjoys regularly going to the gym. In 2005, Phyllis became an active member in the UCSD Retirement Association, where she found a camaraderie that is hard to beat. “We are a very seasoned and fun loving group that gathers all our skills to face the challenges that come our way”, Phyllis beams. “It is indeed a pleasure to partake in all the activites we are asked to serve.”

Paul Walters:
Paul grew up in San Diego and graduated in 1970 from SDSU with a Bachelor of Science degree. Paul’s UCSD career spanned some thirty-three years, beginning at the Hillcrest Hospital in 1970 as a Laboratory Technologist and advancing to a Senior Specialist. In 1994, Paul became the Supervisor of Hematology/ Coagulation, and in 1995, a Senior Supervisor and acquiring the Rheumatology Laboratory. Paul served as the chairperson for many years for National Medical Laboratory Week. He also brought smiles to young patient’s faces, serving as Santa Claus for 22 years for UCSD’s Pediatric Department. Paul retired in 2003. He is married to another UCSD retiree, the lovely Mercedes Walters, and has two son's living in San Diego, and one son and two grandchildren living in Temecula. Paul’s many hobbies include gardening, home building, ballroom dancing, stained glass, sports, movies, travel, and volunteer work (UCSD Retirement Association and St John of the Cross Church). He also helps to care for his aging mother, handling her shopping, errands, gardening and medical appointments. A lifetime of selfless service continues...

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” for 2007 - Dottie Keffala.

Retirement Association for many years, including several years as a Director on the Board. She has also served for numerous years on the Volunteer Committee, which is responsible for organizing all of the Association’s volunteer efforts as well as on the Program Committee, which selects the Association’s programs and activities. Additionally, Dottie has volunteered for just about every event the Association has served, including the International Café, Sharecase, Annuitants Fair, People Expo, Admit Day, Human Resources Middle Management Advance, Core Cell Vendor Fair, Staff Association Picnic, Small Business Vendor Fair, and UCSD Open House for several years in a row. She has been a regular member of the Gazette Groupies, a fun group of members who come together each month to collate, staple, fold and label the Association's newsletter, the Gazette. She’s always willing to pitch in and help carry out the Association’s many activities and events.

Dottie retired in April 1992 from her highly visible position as Assistant to Chancellor Richard Atkinson, whom she had faithfully served for some twelve years. Her entire service to UCSD spanned more than 20 years; starting out as an assistant to the first UCSD Librarian, Mel Voigt, then hired by Martin Chamberlain to work in the first UCSD Public Relations Department. Dottie says her many years of working for Chancellor Atkinson were “a fulfilling and learning experience”. She loved working with students, but also could be tough, when the occasion called for it. A visitor trying to get in to see the Chancellor once mused aloud “You may get past the receptionist, but then you turn the corner and you don’t get past the Dragon Lady!”. Dottie, or “Dragon Lady” won the prestigious “UCSD Exemplary Employee of the Year” Award in 1991.

Not bad for a gal who only learned English when she started school at age six! Dottie grew up speaking Italian in Marcus Hook, a tiny town in Pennsylvania on the Delaware River. After her first year of college at the University of Delaware, Dottie moved to California, where she finished her AA degree. Dottie has always promoted education, at home and at work, and is proud of her three daughters, two whom earned PhD's and one who earned an MA. She is doted on by her three daughters and is the proud grandmother of seven.

Dottie has also served on the volunteer VIP Campus Tours team, as a tutor at the International Center, and in the Resale Shop.

Dottie is known for her impeccable personal integrity and warm and caring personality. She is truly a renaissance woman who loves the opera, good books, museums, fine music and good conversation.

Congratulations, Dottie, for your many jobs well done!

We would like to share with all of our members, the recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” Award for 2006 - Georgette Camporini.

Georgette has served the UCSD Retirement Association for many years, including four years as a Director on the Association’s Board of Directors (2001 - 2005), where she co-chaired the vitally important Volunteer Committee, responsible for organizing all of the Association’s volunteer efforts around campus. Additionally, Georgette has volunteered for just about every event where the Association has served, including the International Café, Sharecase, Annuitants Fair, People Expo, Human Resources Middle Management Advance, Admit Day, the Core Cell Vendor Fair, the Small Business Vendor Fair, CUCRA and UCSD Open House for several years in a row, to name but a few events. She has been a regular member of the Volunteer Committee and the Program Committee, as well as pitching in almost every month with the Gazette Groupies, a fun group of members who come together each month to collate, staple, fold and label your Association's newsletter, the Gazette. She’s always willing to pitch in and help with planning and carrying out the Association’s many activities and events.

Georgette retired from her successful career in the UCSD Libraries in 1993, under the VERIP III program. Over a ten year period, Georgette served in five different libraries on campus in a variety of positions from Supervisor to Bindery to Technical work.

A UCSD Alumnus (Bachelor’s Degree in Music), Georgette is also an accomplished life-long musician who plays the piano, organ, clarinet, harpsichord and drums. In fact, Georgette got her first gig as an accompanist (piano) in the fifth grade! She went on to play with the Chicago Civic Orchestra, and then later, here in San Diego, as an accompanist for the UCSD Department of Music and with the La Jolla Civic Orchestra.

In addition to her years of dedicated volunteer service to UCSD, Georgette has also served as a Docent for the Torrey Pines Docent Society (for 20+ years), and served for 8 years on the Board of Volunteers for CALPA, the California League of Park Associations.

And to top off her lifetime of service to her community, Georgette is the loving mother of eight children (4 girls and 4 boys).

Congratulations, Georgette, for your many jobs well done!

We would like to share with all of our members, the Association’s recipient of the prestigious “Volunteer of the Year” Award for 2005 - Jan Robinson.

This is someone who has volunteered for so many years, and at so many events, we cannot quantify her enormous contribution. Jan has served on the Association’s Board of Directors, and has volunteered for the International Café, Sharecase, Annuitants Fair, Core Cell Vendor Fair, and UCSD Open House for several years in a row, to name but a few.

She has been a regular contributor to the Volunteer Committee and the Program Committee, as well as pitching in almost every month with the "Gazette Groupies", a group of members who come together each month to collate, staple, fold and label your Association's newsletter, the "Gazette". She always comes out to help with her positive attitude and friendly smile. Congratulations, Jan, for your many jobs well done!