By K-State Student Hayden Coons
The baby boomers are widely known as America’s greatest generation by many people; and I doubt many will argue against that. The very first baby boomers started to turn 65 in 2011 and are now retiring. Martin Everson, like many baby boomers is retired. Just because he is retired doesn’t mean he has stopped working.
When you are 62 years old and have been working sun up to sun down your whole life it is hard to just quit working. Martin is a third-generation Coloradan, and he grew up working on the family farm in Lamar. He ran track in high school and went to college at Northeastern for track. Like many other baby boomers, he enlisted in the military and joined the Air Force for seven years as a Command & Control Specialist. When he got out, he worked in construction and as a carpenter for forty years, owning his own construction business twice.
A few weeks ago Martin moved to Manhattan, his family was from St. Mary’s a few generations back and he really wanted to see where his family came from on their way west to Colorado. Around the time Martin got to Manhattan, an acquaintance of his told him about RSVP of the Flint Hills, a Volunteer Center, as a possibility to stay busy and meet other individuals in the community. Martin came into the RSVP office and started volunteering with them right away. Martin said that one of the big reasons he enjoys volunteering so much is that it allows him to give something back to the community, while at the same time getting to know the community. He said that one of the reasons he got involved so quickly is that after working his whole life it was very strange to not be doing anything. Volunteering allows him to stay positive and gives him numerous avenues to use his time.
Currently he volunteers three mornings a week at theRiley County Senior Service Center with their Meals on Wheels program, and he also volunteers two to three times a week with Habitat for Humanity at the ReStore. Right now, he said through Habitat he helps around the store and is working with a leadership group from the university on making a working playhouse that will be auctioned off. The profits from the playhouse will be used towards the new habitat home build in Ogden. . He enjoys working with Habitat because it allows him to use his expertise in carpentry and construction fields to help give back to others.
Martin said that his outlook on life is one in which if someone does not learn something new every day, you just go backwards. He also said the most important things in life are to always keep a positive attitude and be willing to learn. Even being 62 years old Martin said he is still learning all the time and he has been able to keep a positive attitude through volunteering. Martin Everson may not have lived in the community for very long, but he has embraced volunteering around the community and it has been a positive experience for all parties involved.
