The two types of volunteering are very different, and he finds them both rewarding.
“If people would just go volunteer in areas that they’re interested in, that’s all it would take,” said Schoolcraft, 73, of Beavercreek.
As a senior center driver, he transports older adults in Beavercreek and Beavercreek Township to medical appointments, stores, restaurants and other locations. He also serves as the lead trainer for the center’s drivers and escorts, who ensure that passengers safely get from door to door.
Schoolcraft enjoys giving back while getting to know the seniors he drives. Many of them have no family members locally who can help, and they appreciate the time and money they save utilizing the service.
“You get hooked as I did that there’s a need out there,” he said.
Becoming a golf course rater captain, on the other hand, was a way to give back to the game he has loved for more than 40 years.
As the team lead, he works with 24 other men and women to rate Miami Valley Golf’s 60 courses and establish course ratings. The team rates six or seven courses each year, collecting measurement data like elevation, stance and distances to water and bunkers.
That data is then put into a United States Golf Association algorithm, which generates course ratings and slopes. That information is used to determine a golfer’s handicap.
Although he has long been a fan of the sport, he plays only for fun and not for competition.
“I do it purely for the socialization and relaxation of it,” said Schoolcraft, who also can be found on pickleball courts with his wife of 53 years, Janet.
Schoolcraft began both volunteer jobs in 2014, after his retirement. The Marietta native spent 27 years in the U.S. Air Force, where one of his tasks as the 88th support group commander was setting up housing and other arrangements for the talks that resulted in the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war in Bosnia. He retired in 2000 as a colonel, followed by about a decade as a defense contractor.
Steve Jurick, the executive director and chief executive officer of Miami Valley Golf who nominated Schoolcraft as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem, said that Schoolcraft has a combination of humbleness and humanity that is not often seen.
He spends hundreds of hours each year on his volunteer service, and his commitment shows his dedication to the community and improving the lives of others, Jurick said.
Schoolcraft never hesitates to take on a challenge or go the extra mile, Jurick said. He has set himself apart not only through his work with Miami Valley Golf but through all of his volunteerism.
“I think it’s part of his very core,” Jurick said.
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