Abbotsford News Friday, March 28, 2014
A25
ABBOTSFORD’S ACTIVE ADULTS A local monthly guide to events, resources and services for active adults
April 2014
Life is about making a contribution From the first day Milt Walker arrived in Abbotsford thirty-one years ago, he knew he could make a difference in the community. As executive director of the addiction and treatment facility, Kinghaven Peardonville House Society, Walker encourages those he works with to share his passion of volunteering. “Here at Kinghaven we deal with some pretty vulnerable and disenfranchised clients, so we teach them to give back, such as volunteering for Canada Day, and they really enjoy it,” he says. Since beginning his volunteer work in 1995 with the Western Canada Summer Games, Walker has remained a firm believer that you can’t accomplish very much unless you know the community. “I couldn’t live in a community that I wasn’t involved in,” says Walker. “The reward is working with the most incredible groups of people, whether it’s with multi-sport games, arts, heritage, culture, or the parks commission, you really get to the know the heartbeat of the community through its volunteers.” Walker has involved himself in
numerous community initiatives, including serving as vice-chairman of the Disability Games in 2002, then president of the 2004 B.C. Summer Games; he is currently chair of the Reach Gallery Museum Board of Directors, and became the Parks Recreation and Culture Commissioner five years ago. “I still want to expand programs that we can do here at Kinghaven, and I want to see expansions to the cultural programs that happen in Abbotsford,” says Walker. “As you can see, I am a very strong believer in giving back to the community.” Walker’s time is equally filled with community involvement as much as it is with his own leisurely activities. “I play squash and golf, I take piano lessons, I paint, and I constantly read; I have a book in my car, beside my chair, and one beside the bed,” says Walker. At seventy-five years old Walker admits that he gets asked every day when he plans to retire. “My answer is that I feel like I can still make a contribution, as I believe all the seniors in the community can,” says Walker. “For me, life is about
Milt Walker, executive director of Kinghaven Peardonville House Society, an addiction and treatment facility in Abbotsford.
making a contribution and learning every single day from somebody else.” And his secret to being happy and healthy at seventy-five is a simple one. “Be involved with a huge crosssection of people, both young and old, and remember that retirement and age are only numbers,” says Walker. “As long as I have my health and as long as there are opportunities, I believe that there are places to go, things to do, people to meet and experiences that I have never had yet.”
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