Volunteering is this senior's gig

Shirley Goodwin of Barnum was honored as the Outstanding Senior Citizen at the Carlton County Fair in Barnum last month.

"It was quite the experience," she said this week as she prepared to head to the Minnesota State Fair Thursday for honors there.

Shirley and Kae Goodwin moved to Barnum 43 years ago when he was hired as a special education teacher in Moose Lake. They raised three children. Shirley worked at Northview Bank, attaining the position of manager before retiring in 2005.

Shirley has two philosophies about volunteering that she feels are vital in small communities.

First, she said that the award is not something a volunteer wins alone.

"I am president of several organizations and have learned to delegate responsibilities," she said. "You find out where a person's comfort zone is and then ask them to work in that area. That's how you make an organization work."

Her second philosophy is that organizations need to work together in small communities, she said. "You tie things together to make them work."

Shirley is on the board of Barnum Community Education, which operates the Age to age program.

"We have the students meet in the senior citizens center and teach them sewing and cooking," she said. "I work with them on sewing. I am looking forward to working with the students again this year."

She is secretary of the Barnum area senior center.

"We own the building and have to do fundraising to pay the expenses," she said. "The city and Barnum Township give us stipends but we have to pay the rest of the expenses ourselves."

Shirley is also president of the Peterson-Westerberg American Legion Auxiliary Unit 415.

"One gal is good at taking care of Poppy Day," she said. "We also are involved in Memorial Day activities."

The Barnum Area Community Club is another volunteer activity.

"We plan Spring Fever Days, but that didn't happen this year," she said. "We would have had to start planning in January. There was still a car show but it was held at the high school in the parking lot instead of the fairgrounds this year. That seemed to work out quite well. We also do the tree-lighting ceremony and activities before Christmas."

Shirley said that there is something for her to do every day for all the groups she helps. "One day I might be washing dish towels for the senior center, and the next day I might spend half a day on computer work for another organization."

Shirley is also active in Emmanuel Lutheran Church and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

"I apply for $250 grants from the Thrivent Action Team for the organizations that I am involved with," she said. "Those funds go a long way to helping with the various programs."

As she looks back on all of her years of volunteering, Shirley is grateful.

"I'm very grateful for all of the friends that I have made over the years," said Shirley. "I want to thank all of my co-workers and friends. Teamwork is so necessary to accomplish your goals, especially in small communities. You need to tie things together."