On May 20, our volunteer, Marty Wieczorek, was presented with a Lehigh County "Unsung Hero" award to honor his contribution to our community.
At Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County, we draw support from an outstanding group of volunteers. Some of these volunteers distinguish themselves by their willingness to go above and beyond their usual activities. Marty Wieczorek is one of these exceptional volunteers.
Marty’s story begins seventy-eight years ago. Born March 8, 1937 in Bethlehem, he was the youngest of ten children of Polish immigrants. Growing up on the family farm, he learned the importance of hard work at a young age. Both his parents passed away when Marty was in his early teens, and he was raised by his older siblings. After school, Marty spent two years in the Navy, returning home to work at Bethlehem Steel for a short time. He took a job as a milkman before returning to Bethlehem Steel where he worked for more than twenty years. During these years, he and his wife were also busy raising their family, daughter Lorrie and son Michael.
Following his years at Bethlehem Steel, Marty became a sales manager at The Morning Call. Later, after ten years at the newspaper, he worked as a school bus driver for over eight years. During his time at The Morning Call, he also started his own company, Party Tents for Rent by Marty, a business that’s still going strong over twenty years later. Marty’s daughter Lorrie says that “he is and always has been a very hard worker throughout his life, sometimes working 2 and 3 jobs to support the family. “ Lorrie and her brother Mike like to think that they inherited Marty's work ethic!
While his family thought that retirement would allow Marty to “kick back and take it easy,” Marty had different ideas! In 2009, following a desire to give back to a good organization, Marty began volunteering with Meals on Wheels. Initially helping a few times each week as a driver or visitor on our delivery routes, he soon became one of our most dependable and well-liked volunteers.
Popular with both clients and his fellow volunteers, he covered his route on a regular basis, assisting with extra time whenever possible. He also donates money to help support our program. As his daughter notes, "My dad started delivering a few days each week and found he loved it so much that it became his five-days-a-week job!” In fact, the only reason we can survive wintertime at Meals on Wheels is because Marty’s tent business is on hiatus, so we have his help fulltime!
As the years have gone by, Marty has taken on more and more responsibilities for us. In addition to driving multiple routes each week, he stops at our office daily to pick up route sheets and other items to take to our pickup location. He arrives early to help put out coolers, pet food and other “extras” and to distribute weekend packs. He assists with frozen soups, holiday meals, and blizzard bags (food sent out in anticipation of bad weather). He sorts and updates route sheets and has trained numerous new volunteers as they ride along on his route to observe delivery procedures. His daughter says “he loves the interaction with the other volunteers, the clients, and of course all the wonderful ladies in the office.”
A little over a year ago, Marty told us he was setting a goal for himself: he wanted to reach 2,500 hours by January 1, 2016. Not surprisingly, given his work ethic and determination, he managed to achieve this goal a year ahead of schedule, reaching 2,534 hours and logging 14,123 miles as of January 1st of this year!
Devoting this much time to Meals on Wheels and running his own business doesn’t leave Marty a lot of free time. All this activity has ensured that Marty stays strong and fit; it’s hard to think of a more thorough workout than delivering, setting up and taking down tents and tables and chairs for each event! When he takes some time to relax, he enjoys watching Phillies and Eagles games and also likes woodworking. Family has always been important to Marty, and he maintains close ties with his children and his two grandchildren.
Despite obstacles in his own life, Marty is always upbeat and positive. He has become an indispensable part of Meals on Wheels and is one of our favorite people. Marty’s children note that: “we couldn’t be more proud of our father and hope that he is able to continue his journey for many more years to come.” Meals on Wheels is truly fortunate to have such an amazing person connected with our program, and we believe he serves as an inspiration to people of all ages.