RETIREE VOLUNTEERS IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE

Mary Jane Fieser was a young girl when she first met Ilena Aslin through Girl Scouting.

She was just one of hundreds of young girls impacted by the kindness and compassion of Aslin, who served as executive director of the Cotton Bowl Girl Scout Council in Sikeston for 30 years.

Aslin and her caring attitude haven't changed over the years.

Today, Fieser is program/membership marketing specialist for the Otahki Girl Scout Council in Cape Girardeau. The two still cross paths. Aslin volunteers for the Otahki council as well as a long, long list of other community service projects.

"Miss Ilena is a real people person," said Fieser. "She's bubbly and full of life. She also remembers everybody she comes in contact with. She's just a wonderful person."

As a teacher, Aslin was asked one day to lead a troop in Bloomfield. She consented, and the rest, they say, is history. In addition to her long service in Sikeston, she directed the Girl Scout councils near Hannibal and three other places.

Dennis Stewart, executive director of the Otahki Council, says Aslin has spent her adult life promoting and living the mission of volunteerism.

"Her professional life was spent working with the Girl Scouts, where she volunteered many hours above and beyond her 'salaried' time on the job," she said. "Ilena gives her time and talents freely and in a very diversified manner."

Since retirement in 1994, she routinely volunteers between 25 and 30 hours a week -- accumulating hundreds of hours for a long list of organizations.

-- She has worked with the Red Cross for seven years, serving on the Red Cross board and assisting with local blood drives.

-- Aslin volunteers two days a week at Southeast Missouri Hospital, amassing more than 300 hours annually. She serves at the lobby desk and the surgical room.

-- She also helps with Meals on Wheels through the hospital and supports FISH through her church, Maple United Methodist. She is active in other church activities as well.

-- Aslin volunteers more than 250 hours annually for RSVP, a program that links 500 senior citizens to volunteer jobs. She serves on the board and is a past president.

-- She's also quite active in AARP as a district coordinator and a member of the state leadership council. She will be a delegate to the national convention this year. She's also a member of the TRIAD/SALT Council, an cooperative effort between senior citizens and law enforcement to combat crime and fraud.

The list goes on and on.

"I think people need to be out there helping other people," Aslin said simply. "I guess I developed this belief and desire to help other people through Girl Scouting."

Stewart feels Aslin's sphere of influence stretches farther than anyone can imagine due to the number of people she comes into contact with from all walks of life.

"Ilena expects no praise, yet she deserves much," said Stewart. "Her quiet manner and energetic ways of work are admirable and she is a role model for anyone entering the volunteer arena."