Editor’s note: Cordova community events and programs run on volunteers. This is the first in an ongoing series of Volunteer Spotlight Q&A’s in partnership with the Cordova Chamber of Commerce to honor those who give their time and efforts to better the community.
Wendy Ranney has volunteered with the Cordova Fire Department and U.S. Forest Service, and is currently active on 16 different boards, committees and or commissions. Ranney is the owner and operator of the Whale’s Tale café at the Orca Adventure Lodge.
The Cordova Times: How did you first start volunteering in Cordova?
Wendy Ranney: I have been volunteering in Cordova since I got here in 1992. I started with the fire department and volunteered over 200 hours a year as a firefighter and EMT. I also volunteered through the USFS for interpretive programs as “Lucky Strike Lucy” and was featured on the cover of a professional journal, as well as volunteering for the Discovery Room through a partnership of the USFS and the Prince William Sound Science Center.
CT: Describe your volunteer work in Cordova.
WR: Community is very important to me, and volunteerism is vital to a healthy community. I want my children and the other children of Cordova to have as many opportunities as possible.
I want my neighbors to feel like they always have someone looking out for them, and I want my voice to be a part of the decisions that are made in my town. For all of those things to happen, you need to give of your talents and time. I have two degrees from Penn State University, one in forestry and one in environmental education. I am passionate about the outdoors and love to be on the water or walking in the woods. I also have over 10 years in retail and restaurant/hotel management. I work hard, play hard and feel a strong loyalty to my home. I want to see our community stay strong and healthy.
CT: What is something you’ve gained from your volunteer work, related, for example to skills, an experience, new friends, a job?
WR: I am currently active on 16 different boards, committees and or commissions, some more active than others, but all just as important. I love being a part of a small town. I have always felt like I belonged here, and the one time that I left, I spent most of my time away, trying to find a way to come back. Being involved in so many volunteer opportunities helps me to be in contact with everyone and help with decisions and programs that make our community such an amazing place to be. I always am open to being educated about something that I may not know much about or something that I may have a certain opinion on, and volunteering in Cordova is one way to be involved in all of it good and or bad. It is not all puppies and cotton candy though. There is a serious problem with volunteer fatigue, and we are poised to lose some wonderful programs because of a lack of volunteerism. I encourage younger folks to step up and step in, volunteer to lead a program or help maintain something that you feel passionate about. It takes a community — to be a community.
CT: Any story you’d like to share, experience or something you’d like to say about volunteering in Cordova.
WR: There are so many stories about different volunteer opportunities that I have interacted with that it is hard to pinpoint one that is my favorite, but it may be a toss-up between my final year as director of the Cordova 4-H Music Camp and showing up to the water gun battle at the lake with a fire engine and water cannon, or trying to gather up children that had scattered in the woods at McKinley Lake with Smokey the Bear because Lucky Strike Lucy was a bit too authentic with her double barrel shotgun.
If you’d like to know more information on ways to volunteer in the community contact the Cordova Chamber of Commerce at 907-424-7260 or visit cordovachamber.com/volunteer.
Nominate someone for a future Volunteer Spotlight at spencerjaneb@gmail.com.
