In honor of Jim Landkamer's 32 years of volunteer service.

Jim Landkamer was born in Minnesota in 1928. As a child, he was interested in Forestry and thought he wanted to work with nature. Although he ended up becoming a chemical engineer, he kept his love of nature through adulthood. According to Jim, his fondest memories are with his four children and all of the camping trips they took together as a family.

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In 1987, after retiring, Jim decided to volunteer his time. When we asked him how he chose Dial-A-Bus, he said, "living in Corvallis, it was hard to miss the Dial-A-Bus vehicles as they drove around town." He had always enjoyed driving, so when he retired he thought that driving for Dial-A-Bus would be a great way to do some good for people and keep him interested. It turns out, he was right, and it kept him interested for 32 years.

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“I certainly enjoyed it.

I enjoyed meeting people

and doing something for

them. It just felt good!”

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When asked if he had ever volunteered anywhere else, Jim reprimanded himself for never having volunteered before retirement, as if his 32 years of service perhaps had not been enough. Our Executive Director read off some statistics for Jim to show him how much good he really did for our community. Thirty-two years of service, over 15,000 hours dedicated to giving around 20,000 rides to our clients who needed the help. Of course, Jim brushed it off as if it were no big deal and jokingly asked if we could tell him precisely how many miles he drove in his time with us. That's just who Jim is.

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“My outlook on life in general 

is to do good and have fun and

that’s what I advise people to do.”

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He is most grateful for his good health and his family. When asked who he admires, without hesitation he told us that he admires his children, saying that they can do anything. When he couldn't come up with a specific person who had inspired him in his earlier years, he asked if we could come up with anyone on the spot. Our answer is, of course, Jim Landkamer.

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We asked Jim, "why 32 years at Dial-A-Bus?"

“Why? Well, why not?” he said with a smirk.

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If you feel inspired by Jim, please click here to visit our volunteer page or click here to donate to the organization that Jim thought was worth over 15,000 hours of his time.