Clovis volunteer finds life rich with opportunities

Bob Althoff coaches, mentors, tutors dozens of children, helps build houses for those in need, worked to open local Boys & Girls Club

Bob Alhoff, right, listens as Sierra Vista Elementary School second-grader Alex Akers read "The Robbers" during one of the final days of school. During the school year, Alhoff volunteers at the school weekly.

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Bob Althoff may be retired, but that doesn't mean he's slowed down.

Some would say the 69-year-old Clovis man is practically a full-time volunteer, whether teaching reading to elementary school children, building houses for the needy or helping worthy high school students receive scholarships.

But he has a secret. He'll tell you with a smile he has an ulterior motive for everything he does.

"The No. 1 reason I do it is, it makes me feel so good," he said. "I just love the kids and love being there to cheer them on."

The kids he refers to range from second- to 12th-graders from schools all over the Clovis area. Besides teaching reading and working with high school students, he also helps his son coach sports teams.

Althoff got involved in volunteering while his two children were in school, but his job as a store manager for Longs Drugs took up a lot of his time. It wasn't until he retired nine years ago that his volunteering really took off.

"As you start to get older, you worry that you aren't doing any good for anybody," he said. "So I really try to give back."

Althoff had been involved in the Clovis Rotary Club before his retirement, but took over as president soon after, serving from 1999 to 2000.

Friend and fellow Rotarian Bobby Shehorn, 65, said Althoff was referred to at Rotary by initials on his badge, BHSANG, meaning, "Because he's such a nice guy."

Shehorn credits Althoff's cheerful disposition to his large base of friends in the Clovis area. "There are probably 500 people in Clovis that would easily call him their friend. I know I do," Shehorn said.

Althoff's son Bob Jr., 46, echoed those sentiments about his father. "You would be hard pressed to find someone in Clovis who thought ill of him."

It was Althoff's love for children and his community that led him to help start a Boys & Girls Club in Clovis. "When we realized there wasn't one, we knew we had to do something," he said. Althoff helped to raise the money to start the club, now in its fifth year.

Althoff's love for horses and the high country prompted more volunteer opportunities once his kids were out of school. Living on a ranch and owning many horses gave Althoff an idea.

"I didn't think twice about signing up as a volunteer mounted search and rescue helper," he said.

"For 10 years I was a part of the Fresno County Sheriff's Mounted Search and Rescue Team," he said. "We would get calls early in the morning that a hunter or someone was lost. We would load up the horses and head up to wherever it was."

Althoff would eagerly search for a missing person, sometimes for days. "It was such a thrill," he said. "We found the guy every time but once. When we found somebody and brought them out to the parents, once you see them reunite and hold each other, it just makes it worth it. It is such a great feeling."

Although now unable to ride horses due to arthritis, Althoff still holds the memories close and finds ways to continue to do good in other areas.

Althoff is on the board of the University of Hope organization at California State University, Fresno. The organization's goal is to help build one home a year for a needy family. Althoff helps with the building project every Saturday.

"I love getting my hands dirty and getting up on the roof and stuff," he said.

It is the feeling of providing for those less fortunate that pushed Althoff to continue his work with Interact clubs in Clovis high schools. The clubs join with the Rotary, Clovis Police Department and some local businesses to collect food items to feed some 500 deserving families every year.

"The kids give up so much of their time on the weekend to do it," he said. "It is so great to see them wanting to help out."

The kids he coaches and teaches to read know him as "Grandpa." Althoff is also proud to be a grandpa to six grandchildren and finds it easy to offer some life advice.

"You can do anything you want to," he said. "You just have to work hard. And have fun every day. Don't waste one day on the negative crap. Life is too short.

"Have fun every day, and make other people feel the same way. There are a lot of cool things to just grab a hold of and have fun with. So do it."

Friendly Faces is an occasional series about people who make Clovis a great place to live. To nominate someone to be profiled in this series, please e-mail Patti J. Lippert at plippert@clovisindependent.com. A collection of already published Friendly Faces profiles can be found online at www.clovisindependent.com. Click on 'Friendly Faces.'