Janice has been a volunteer at the La Pine Activity Center for less than a year, since around the time of the Sportsmen’s Show in April of 2022.  
“As a former accountant, I asked if the Center needed any spreadsheets done,” said Janice. “Jamie turned around and pulled out the envelope of Rhubarb Festival vendor applications and said, ‘here!’ Ever since then, she’s had her hooks into me!  Jamie keeps her volunteers involved and busy!  I also work the front desk on Monday afternoons and have worked on the Cascade Relay as well as the  recent Winter Traditions Craft Bazaar.  Jamie is a whirlwind for getting people motivated!”
Both born and raised in SE Portland, where Janice was an accountant and her husband was a CPA they have had a cabin in La Pine for nearly 40 years. They purchased the two adjacent acres, then combined the acreage and had a home built about 15 years ago.   “The camaraderie of the other volunteers at the Center and the fact that Jamie will do just about anything for anybody makes this endeavor a wonderful experience.  She likes a resolution to a person’s problem,” said Janice. “I’m looking forward to staying with the Center as a volunteer, and we’re always looking for more!”

 Lori has been a volunteer at the Activity Center since meeting Jamie at the 2021 Quilt Show.  
“I started out working the front desk one day a week, and then started helping with special events,” said Lori. “The Rhubarb Festival was my first big event, and I was the volunteer coordinator, which was a real challenge since we had just moved to La Pine and I didn’t know anyone. But it was a great chance to meet people in this community!”
Lori and her husband Jerry moved here in April of 2021 from the Rogue Valley.  
“We’ve had friends with property here and we came to visit them during the summers, and my husband said he wanted to retire here.  So when it came time to retire, we sold everything, bought a fifth wheel, and then Covid hit. I had wanted to retire to the coast, but we realized we couldn’t leave the fifth wheel there permanently because of the harsh weather. So we wound up moving here and are currently waiting on permits to get a house started.”
In her “before life”, Lori spent 15 years doing child care and then was director of a preschool when her kids were in high school.  “I did that for eight years but missed having my business at home, so I opened a daycare in my home and did that until we moved here.  It took me four years to retire because my families wanted me to finish taking care of their children,” said Lori.
“My husband, Jerry, was a mill-worker with Boise Cascade and retired after working in the mills for 30 plus years.”
So what does Lori like best about volunteering?  
“The other volunteers!  Everybody is so wonderful here… these people are amazing, willing and it’s helped me get into this community and get to know people,” Lori replied.
Recently Lori took a job cleaning the kitchen and restrooms at the Activity Center a couple days a week .
“I don’t like to clean, but those women in the kitchen work so hard and do such a great job, I feel rewarded helping them out,” said Lori.
Lori’s husband Jerry is always volunteering at the Center as well; he was up on the roof putting on Christmas lights recently!
“Jamie just gives so much to this center and this community, it makes it a pleasure to volunteer there,” said Lori. “If anyone out there is interested in joining us, call the Center — it’s for everybody, not just seniors!  And come for lunch, it’s fantastic food!”

If you’ve come through the front doors of the La Pine Activity Center, then you’ve probably been greeted on Wednesday mornings by a friendly face that belongs to Sandy Nicol, one of our front desk volunteers.
Sandy moved here in the late 1990’s and has been volunteering since 2003, when the Center was housed where the Cub Corner is today, at the corner of Burgess and Huntington.
There have been a lot of changes since then, but Sandy has remained a constant helper and information provider.
“I really like being able to answer people’s questions about the Center,” says Sandy. “What I enjoy most about my volunteer work are the people I get to meet and help out.”
Sandy and her husband moved to La Pine from Arizona, but are originally from the eastern part of the U.S.
“I like the laid-back atmosphere of La Pine,” says Sandy. “Especially now that we’re older, La Pine is a great place to live…the people here aren’t in such a hurry to get on with things…but there’s always something to do here, and the Center is the heart of this community…I’m going to keep volunteering here for as long as I can!”