Volunteer Spotlight: Charles and Beth Henderson

It takes two to tango. A team! Power Couple Charles and Beth Henderson were an MLGW volunteer team even before both were working for MLGW. Now that’s dedication, but it also underscores a philosophy: Helping others is the best thing you can do, and they are a couple who loves to do things together.

 

Charles, who often goes by Chuck, took a State Tech Underground Utility course offered by the Division in 1996 which led to a full-time position the next year as an electric utility worker at the North Center. That adds up to 23 years here. “It still feels like my first day,” says Charles, now a crew leader in the Telecommunication department repairing and splicing fiber optic cable. “One of the most inspiring and career-building opportunities that I have learned is that while working here, ‘the sky is the limit!’ ”

Beth started out as a call center temp in 2016, becoming permanent full-time the next year. Now she works in Purchasing. “Prior to me coming to MLGW,” Beth remembers. “I would always accompany Chuck on MLGW volunteering assignments to man the booths at different events. I was fortunate to be hired into a department where volunteerism is the true heartbeat of our area. Our supervisor, Randy Orsby, and our late manager, Clifton Davis, jump on board with our volunteer visions. The amount of volunteer opportunities MLGW offers is like candy to a kid. For that I am grateful.”

“Because MLGW has a gift of giving, I wanted to help in that effort,” Charles says. “I wanted to donate my time to represent the company, manning the booth at Vesta Home Shows, Mid-South summer events, MLGW Conservation Days, the Southern Women’s Show… I recall parades, and of course, school events as a DECA Judge.”

What’s DECA? The Distributive Education Clubs of America whose High School Division includes 215,000 members in 3,375 schools, and it includes almost 5,000 colleges. It’s a 75-year-old organization that prepares high school and college students for the real world in the areas of marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Quite an effort! “My time judging in DECA events was my ‘main event,’ ” Charles fondly recalls. “That’s due to the looks on the faces of all those young students trying to find their way into becoming better students equipped for their next step in society. It’s inspiring.

In fact, both Beth and Charles say DECA is their favorite volunteer project. “When I served as a DECA judge for young entrepreneurs, that was my favorite,” Beth says. “To be able to hear the visions of these young minds that are going to eventually shape our community and world – I wish I had the time to do ‘Team Read’ at local schools teaching children their ‘sight’ words, but my schedule doesn’t permit. Reading is my favorite pastime,” she adds.

“I’m partial to Operation Feed and Juvenile Diabetes for reasons that really hit close to home,” Beth says. “If I can’t give the time, I give them the dime.” Close to home because Charles’ and Beth’s grandson was diagnosed at eight with Juvenile Diabetes. And Operation Feed? “There’s no reason for anyone to go hungry,” Beth insists. “It breaks my heart to see elderly folks have to worry about food or having to decide whether to buy food or medication for themselves, or get food for their pets.

“I have a heart for the elderly. There’s one elderly couple in our neighborhood we tend to dote on,” Beth says. “Charles assists them with handyman jobs around their home and yardwork. Our granddaughter loves helping them with their flowers, too. I do grocery store runs, and I’m good for a cup of coffee and conversation. We take them to different outings at our expense. When you have the heart, you find the time.”

Beth and Charles love the Christmas parades MLGW participates in. This past holiday season, Beth got to drive the Conservation Girl car in the parade while Charles walked behind. “Or should I say, ‘danced’ behind,” adds Beth. “Chuck is a bit of a dancer…” They also worked this March’s Southern Women’s Show together staffing MLGW’s info booth.

The Hendersons volunteer a lot in the community, too. In their own Raleigh neighborhood, they founded and helped organize and lead a neighborhood association to address issues like dangerous speeders. “It was like the Indy 500,” Charles says. “After a young boy was hit by a car while riding his bike just a few houses down, my wife and I began a push to get a neighborhood association started to address these issues. Not only did we get a group of other volunteers to come aboard, but we got News Channel 3 out to raise our concerns. We even marched down to City Hall with State representative “2Shay” (Antonio) Parkinson. Long story short, we now have speed bumps to slow down speeders and even a ‘no vote’ stopping development of a new cemetery in our neighborhood,” Charles adds.

“We eventually served as neighborhood association president and vice president,” Beth says. “We have served as Democratic committee representatives for District 1, Ambassadors for the Memphis Police Department, added dog food to MIFA meal deliveries, handed out food to the homeless and hosted a Bahamian foreign exchange student. We stay busy!”

There are benefits for volunteering and donating. “Charles and I won the auction with the best bid at the last-minute to have lunch with Mr. Young and his wife Deidre as part of last year’s Operation Feed Campaign,” Beth says. “We won by $5.11. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with them at Redfish on Union. And we didn’t talk about work at all. We had assisted with our Operation Feed campaign by offering ideas to generate funds which were quite profitable and sold tickets.”

In 2014, both Beth and Charles were honored recipients of the Kindle Award for Humanitarian Services awarded by the Loretta McNairy Organization at a formal ceremony at the Memphis Botanic Garden. “It’s all about helping someone else,” says Charles.

“It’s never too late to give,” Charles stresses to encourage potential volunteers. “Your time is even more valuable when you give it through volunteering. What do I get out of it? The completeness in helping others,” he adds. And Charles and Beth have three sons, two of whom are in the Navy, who have “inherited” their parents’ love of giving back.

Beth’s favorite quote is: “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time. They have the heart!” (--Elizabeth Andrew). “So with this being said, the simplest act of kindness goes a long way,” she adds. “It is important to us that our existence serves a purpose and makes an impact in the community where we live and the lives of those we are exposed to. And I’m honored that my grand jewels (grandchildren) have picked up on our volunteer spirit. One of them in particular loves to help our elderly couple with flowers in their yard. This is teaching her so much more than just helping, but it’s creating memories, planting skills, relationship building. It’s a win-win for everybody.” 

Helping others by volunteering and helping in the community is indeed a win-win for everyone, too. Charles and Beth prove it every time they go out to help others – as a team. It’s a lesson in humanity for all of us.