Speaking of Service- Words from financial representatives who received a 2008 Volunteer Excellence Award.

“Volunteering has become a part of who I am; it’s defined me.” —Terry King

Terry King - Slidell, Louisiana

Terry and his wife, Laura, have two daughters, ages 9 and 5. They attend Lamb of God Lutheran Church in Slidell. Terry is active in the North Shore Louisiana-Southeast Mississippi Chapter and the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter in the Mid-South Region of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. He received his Volunteer Excellence Award in the Financial Representatives category and donated his grant to the Slidell Rotary Club. 

Following is an excerpt from an interview with Terry:

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering?
A. My interest in volunteering started out with the need to make contacts in the community. I had taught Sunday school, but that was the extent of my volunteer work. But then Hurricane Katrina came, wiping out my community and completely changing my way of life. I had to make a decision—stay here in Louisiana or go somewhere else. As I was talking to my pastor, helicopters were flying over and humvees were going through. I knew it was going to be interesting to watch everything unfold; it was a moment in history for this region. It was incomprehensible and indescribable.

So that’s where all of my projects started—with Katrina. It was a matter of survival. My wife and I discussed it. She’s not from Louisiana, but this has become home. I wanted to hang out and see what would happen. I knew I was going to have to do a lot of work to get things going; everyone who stayed had to pitch in. Nobody blames those who left; you have to take care of your own. But it is still difficult to live here today. So we made the commitment to stay and I got to where I really liked it. I’d call on a member, do the work and then line him or her up to do volunteer work.

The Slidell Rotary Club was the first thing I got involved in. Lutheran Disaster Relief came to town and I helped get them set up at Lamb of God Lutheran Church. We had big tents and hauled pallets. We needed this or that, so we’d beg and borrow and try to coordinate people. It was our job to make sure we had people signed up for work. I was the Rotary speaker chair, so it was my job to call on people to speak and connect with other.

I became a board member for the Chamber of Commerce about the same time. The chamber was trying to become more of a relevant organization in our community. We plugged in with a lot of different organizations to make sure businesses had the support and materials they needed to move forward.

Q. How did you first get involved in volunteering with Thrivent Financial?
A. Thrivent Financial had a ready supply of volunteers to help other people out. I’m an opportunist. There was a steady source of Lutherans coming down to Slidell churches to work. And there was a steady need for people in the community. The Rotary had 15 to 18 projects to do and needed volunteers to do to keep costs down. There were tons of houses that needed work. We just got together and it worked out. I never thought of it as a Thrivent Financial thing. For example, one of my clients is a contractor. I called him out of desperation. A church was trying to house volunteers and needed a building permit. He took the project and he agreed to work with volunteers. It created business for him because he was willing to work with volunteers. It was great after the storm to be able to use the network of Lutherans to provide service and care for those here. The phone book didn’t work anymore—we didn’t have phone service.

Q. Why do you volunteer with your Thrivent chapter?
A. I like the people. They’re a great group of people doing great things. Why not?

Q. What’s the most heart-warming activity you’ve been a part of?
A. For me, the one I got the most involved in, was when a bunch of volunteers came to Biloxi from South Carolina and Nebraska to work on Habitat houses. I got to cook gumbo and red beans and rice for them. It was neat to go into that room and see 83 people who took a week off from work to help people they’ve never met before and never will meet. It was for no other reason than it’s the right thing to do. That sort of thing has impressed me more than anything else. We lead here because we must. But the volunteers from up north don’t have to do this. This gave us a big opportunity to thank people.

Q. What would you say to someone wanting to get involved with a Thrivent chapter?
A. We’re in a different situation here in Louisiana. It doesn’t have a high Lutheran density. If you want to do something for Lutherans or with Lutherans, getting involved in a chapter is the best way to have some type of structure to achieve something bigger.

Q. What is your motivation for volunteering?
A. I enjoy seeing the results. All of this started out with the Katrina stuff, but once I saw what can be achieved, especially with the level of effort, I realized it’s pretty amazing. There’s always someone there who likes to do the work. I don’t usually do the work. I get it started and then I’m back for the party! I’ve recruited a few members to adopt foster kids, a great thing because you’re saving someone’s life.

It helps people to understand what their mission should be—if you figure out what makes you tick, volunteer work isn’t an effort. Volunteering has become a part of who I am; it’s defined me.

Q. If the sky was the limit, and neither time nor money stood in the way, what would you like to see accomplished as a result of volunteer efforts?
A. We have 5,200 children in the state of Louisiana in foster care, and I’d like to see them have homes. We’ve adopted two children; that’s important to me. To deny those children what our children have is hard. Because of the instability in our area, kids are being taken away. They’re healthy kids; they just don’t have anyone to take care of them.