CSA Finalist: Jim Brown
By: Dave Woodman, CSA Producer
Updated: November 26, 2009
On this Thanksgiving Day, a lot of older folks in El Dorado can be thankful for one man.
He's our latest Community Service Awards finalist for 2010.
Jim Brown is a transplanted Chicagoan who has found a home as a volunteer in El Dorado. He's a man with a heart for the elderly of Union County.
“Good morning, Geraldine, how are you doing today?” “Fine, thank you.” “Have a good day,” says Jim as he greets a senior citizen.
“When you’re handicapped, it makes a lot of difference. Not having to get out and go somewhere. He’s a mighty fine man, and that Meals on Wheels is something that helps all of the handicapped people,” says Geraldine Crook.
“Everybody ready?” “Go ahead.” “Under the B-3,” says Jim as he calls a bingo game.
“Well, Jim started here about four years ago calling bingo for us in the afternoons, and he’s a lot of fun. He always adds a little spark to the game and teases the ladies and they enjoy that,” says Rev. Bill Odom with the Hudson Senior Center.
“Well, I wasn’t getting any younger, and some of the Norphlet people I see, I’m gonna be there some day, so I get a warm feeling to see them smile, and I talk to them or touch them or just give ‘em a little attention,” says Jim.
Jim was nominated by El Dorado Connections/RSVP, a non-profit Union County clearinghouse that serves South Arkansas as a volunteer center.
“Every time we needed somebody special, they always sent brown, and he, he was such a wonderful, sweet kind man who was willing to do whatever we asked, and I thought he was Superman!,” says Cheryl Splawn, with El Dorado Connections/RSVP.
Jim also loves the children of El Dorado and reads to kindergartners at Northwest Elementary on a regular basis.
“The job I retired from, they had a bulletin board and someone that would retire, six months later you’d see a death notice on the bulletin board, so I said i’m not going to die,” Jim recalls. "The kids I told at the elementary school, I said someday you can be a volunteer, too.”
He's our latest Community Service Awards finalist for 2010.
Jim Brown is a transplanted Chicagoan who has found a home as a volunteer in El Dorado. He's a man with a heart for the elderly of Union County.
“Good morning, Geraldine, how are you doing today?” “Fine, thank you.” “Have a good day,” says Jim as he greets a senior citizen.
“When you’re handicapped, it makes a lot of difference. Not having to get out and go somewhere. He’s a mighty fine man, and that Meals on Wheels is something that helps all of the handicapped people,” says Geraldine Crook.
“Everybody ready?” “Go ahead.” “Under the B-3,” says Jim as he calls a bingo game.
“Well, Jim started here about four years ago calling bingo for us in the afternoons, and he’s a lot of fun. He always adds a little spark to the game and teases the ladies and they enjoy that,” says Rev. Bill Odom with the Hudson Senior Center.
“Well, I wasn’t getting any younger, and some of the Norphlet people I see, I’m gonna be there some day, so I get a warm feeling to see them smile, and I talk to them or touch them or just give ‘em a little attention,” says Jim.
Jim was nominated by El Dorado Connections/RSVP, a non-profit Union County clearinghouse that serves South Arkansas as a volunteer center.
“Every time we needed somebody special, they always sent brown, and he, he was such a wonderful, sweet kind man who was willing to do whatever we asked, and I thought he was Superman!,” says Cheryl Splawn, with El Dorado Connections/RSVP.
Jim also loves the children of El Dorado and reads to kindergartners at Northwest Elementary on a regular basis.
“The job I retired from, they had a bulletin board and someone that would retire, six months later you’d see a death notice on the bulletin board, so I said i’m not going to die,” Jim recalls. "The kids I told at the elementary school, I said someday you can be a volunteer, too.”
