A Lifetime of Volunteering: Larry Woods (’86) Earns Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award
15,700 hours. 15,700 hours is about 650 days. It’s around the number of hours most people will spend at work from now until 2032. It is also the amount of time Larry Woods put into volunteering throughout his life. Woods, a proud 1986 alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has led a life marked by service, dedication, and a commitment to environmental and community causes.
Growing Up & University Memories
Woods grew up with a love for the outdoors spurred by experiences camping with his family and through his involvement with with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of America. After high school, he joined the Air Force, serving for four years before returning to his hometown to attend UW-Green Bay. The proximity to home and the support of his family made UWGB the perfect choice for Woods.
Woods has fond memories at UW-Green Bay—playing cribbage at the Rathskeller, serving beer at Bayfest and volunteering with cleanups as part of the Vets Club.
Woods’ academic work at UW-Green Bay also laid a strong foundation for what would become a decades-long career with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He was a Regional Analysis major, Public Administration minor, and actively involved in the Round River Alliance, a conservation-focused student organization at UWGB. Those experiences would become important for his future career, but another chance experience changed his life’s direction.
The Peace Corps
While at UW-Green Bay, Woods attended a recruitment presentation put on by a Peace Corps volunteer. The Peace Corps is a U.S. government-supported organization that trains volunteers to provide assistance where it is needed around the globe. Woods was fascinated. After graduating in 1986, he opted not to jump straight into a career. Instead, he joined the Peace Corps and spent two years volunteering in Ghana, West Africa. Woods thought of it as a two-year version of his childhood camping trips. But it was also work. He spent his days digging wells, building dams, and assisting in projects to empower women and improve public health. He spent his nights sleeping in a concrete house with a tin roof. Woods described the experience as “the toughest job you’ll ever love,” quoting a Peace Corps tagline. It was an illuminating time of cultural exchange, and it watered the seeds of giving back in Woods.
After returning home, Woods found employment with the EPA, where he focused on environmental protection and public health. That job took him to California, where he currently resides. Woods said his minor in Public Administration proved valuable in his work. “I knew the science part of it,” said Woods, “but when you work for the federal government, you’re the face of the federal government. You do not want to look bad in front of the public.”
A Lifetime of Service
Meanwhile, Woods’ commitment to service didn’t end with the Peace Corps. Throughout his life, he has dedicated over 15,700 hours and counting to volunteer work. He has been involved with organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, Scouting America, and various food banks.
He remembers looking into Big Brothers Big Sisters and finding himself on a new and different adventure. “I had to do an interview to a six-year-old to see if he wanted me to be his Big Brother, which is kind of cool and weird at the same time. What if he doesn’t like me? What’s going to impress a six-year-old?” recalled Woods. Fortunately, that interview went well and Woods became a Big Brother. He spent time with his Little Brother, grew attached, and even took him camping just like his family did when he was a child. “I still keep in touch with him today. He’s got a wife and two beautiful kids and everything’s going well in his life,” said Woods, though he refuses to take credit for his Little Brother’s successes.
All of Woods’ volunteering culminated in one of his most notable achievements—receiving the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for volunteer work. This award, presented to him last December, was hand-signed by President Joe Biden. Woods received the award with humility. “Getting this award isn’t the end. Getting this award is just the beginning. Now you have to live to earn what you already received,” he said.
Woods with his wife Belen working at the Alameda County Food Bank in 1999
Good Karma
Woods’ volunteering also led him to meet his future wife while volunteering at the Alameda County Food Bank. They now have a son who is currently in college. Despite being retired, Woods remains busier than ever, continuing his volunteer work and staying active in his community. “I’m doing all this volunteer work, it sems like I’m busier now than I was when I worked. But it keeps me young, keeps me active,” he said.
Woods credits his father, a World War II veteran, for instilling in him the values of service and giving back. He also believes in the power of good karma. “It’s the right thing to do,” Woods said. “When people are so grateful when you help them, it makes me feel good. But I also believe in good karma. The more good karma I put out to other people, I believe I get more good karma back.”
