For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
At 5:30 a.m. Kenneth Laird wakes up in his Charleroi home and prepares for a day of volunteer work at Center in the Woods in California.
Ironically, at 81, Laird is older than most of the people he devotedly cares for when he arrives at 7 a.m. to open the adult day center each day. Sure, he could just sit back and reap the benefits of membership, but Laird would rather volunteer. He believes it keeps him young.
Laird eagerly serves as the president of the center's board of directors, keeps an eye on the daily operations and delivers for Meals on Wheels twice a week. In Charleroi, he is in the midst of his second term on Charleroi Borough Council.
Last week, Laird attended a dinner at the Carnegie Museum and received the 2007 Community Champion award as part of a national volunteer recognition program called the Jefferson Awards, created in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Sam Beard and U.S. Sen. Robert Taft. The award honors outstanding volunteers and is administered by the American Institute for Public Service and locally by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Foundation and Heinz Endowments. Although he was not selected to take part in the national ceremony in Washington, D.C., he was one of eight people from the Pittsburgh area to be honored.
The inspiration behind Laird's compassion is simple.
"The key to looking and feeling good is to stay busy," he said, explaining that he doesn't have any health issues. "My grandmother, years ago, always said, 'Don't be a taker, be a giver, help other people.' That's what she did and I think I picked up that trait from her. I enjoy people, and it's worked out good for me."
He feels a strong connection to the Center in the Woods, because he was raised in nearby West Brownsville.
"My father was killed in the coal mine, and we went to live with my grandmother in West Brownsville," he said, explaining that his mother eventually purchased a house in East Pike Run Township. "I was a sophomore in high school, and we moved here."
After he graduated from high school, Laird took a job working at a shoe company.
"I worked my way up to being a partner," he said, explaining that he eventually purchased S.S. Craig & Keen, a regional chain of men's shoes stores, which he sold in 1986.
After his wife Ada died, his daughters, Charlene Konek of Charleroi and Susan Bilitski of California, encouraged him to visit the senior center. He took their advice and was soon volunteering to deliver meals. Eventually, he was elected to the board of directors and he has served as president for the past six or seven years. Now, everyone reports to him as he works out problems at the center, which serves 1,800 members from Washington, Fayette and Allegheny counties.
Laird, who spends a lot of time at the center, enjoys daily activities with the friends he has made there. He is thankful that he is spry enough to deliver meals to 12 to 20 people on his 15-mile route.
"I like people. You deliver meals and you go in and talk to them and make sure they are all right. They enjoy it as much as I do," he said, adding that sometimes he is the only person some of the seniors see all day. "A couple of weeks ago, a 91-year-old man was lying on the floor. We had to call the Area Agency on Aging and his son. He is in a home now, but he may have died if not."
The center is so special to Laird that he can't believe more seniors don't take advantage of the services they provide.
"More people should come here. We have so many activities. I don't care what you want to do; we have something for you," he said, pointing out that they have groups that quilt, take cooking classes, exercise, play pool, weave baskets, garden, play bingo and line dance, while other visit the center's hair salon, doctor and tax preparers.
George Krcelich, the center's chief executive office, nominated Laird for the award and attended the dinner with him at the Carnegie Museum.
"It was a really nice event," he said. "He's as active as anyone. He's what volunteering is all about. He will take people to Pittsburgh with his own money, on his own time. He's amazing. He's just one of those guys who will do anything for anyone. I think it keeps him going."