MILTON -- Who: Gene Wenham, longtime community volunteer and president of the Gathering Place senior center's board of directors.

What he does: Wenham donates hundreds of hours of his free time to his church and, primarily, the Gathering Place.

Wenham started volunteering for Milton's senior center in 2000, following in the steps of his mother. She convinced Wenham to sing in the Blue Notes, the center's choir, and he's been a member ever since.

Not long after joining, someone from the Gathering Place asked if anyone would be willing to wash dishes over the summer while the dish washing machine would be on "vacation."

"I said, 'I got time, so I'll do it a couple months,'" Wenham recalled.

"I still wash dishes on Mondays. It's been eight years," he laughed.

Wenham eventually joined the senior advisory council, which acts as a liaison between the board of directors and the center's members. The group was a bit more approachable than the board, Wenham said, which was a perfect fit for him.

"I try to be approachable to anyone that tries to talk to me," he said.

Wenham made it onto the board not long after and was elected president "because no one else wanted the job," he said.

He volunteers for whatever the Gathering Place needs--from its annual brat bash held just over a week ago to summer concerts in the park to the block party celebrated last week.

It's not easy work, either. During the 2014 brat bash, Wenham worked a 20-hour day, helping with the event right up until a shipment of brats was delivered to Freedom Graphics third-shift workers.

Not including the hours he spends mowing the grass at United Methodist Church, Wehman guessed he volunteers 400 to 450 hours a year at the Gathering Place.

"That's the ones I count," Wenham said. "Sometimes I forget to write them down."

Considering he spends the winters in Arizona, Wenham logs those 400 or so hours in nine months.

Why he does it: Wenham's passion for the Gathering Place goes back to his Sunday school teacher, the late Marion Allen. Wenham admired the woman throughout his life, and when she died after founding the Gathering Place, Wenham picked up her mantle.

"I don't golf. I don't fish. I am trying to ... keep her dream going," Wenham said.

Before the Gathering Place, seniors congregated at St. Mary Catholic Church to eat and socialize. When there was a conflicting church function, they had nowhere else to go. The vision for a senior center was born.

"All these things we do for the Gathering Place is part of the dream that she had," Wenham said.

Wenham also has connections that make him a valuable asset to the senior center. When the Gathering Place recently purchased and landscaped property, Wenham helped seed and maintain it.

"I'm an old farmer, and I still have access to my sister-in-law's equipment, so if we need something done, I can usually come up with a piece of equipment to do it."

What others say: Wenham's contributions don't go unnoticed.

Executive Director Dave Fisher considers Wenham the cornerstone of the center's programs and events.

Administrative assistant Sara Pickett agreed.

"There's nothing he won't do. We couldn't function without him," she said.

It could be 100 degrees out and you'll still find Wenham setting up the stage for the Gathering Place's summer concerts in the park event. At 77, the work can't be easy, Pickett said.

"Who does that at his age?" she said. "He's amazing."

What's next: Wenham's age is catching up with him, and he's starting to slow.

At the end of the month, he'll "retire" from his duty as a weekly dishwasher, though he'll substitute when necessary. He'll still volunteer his time at events.

"It's not work. It's just a great self satisfying feeling," he said. "I get paid immensely in the satisfaction."

Wenham is heading to his Arizona home for two weeks in October to take it easy for a bit, but it's not the end of his volunteering work.

"I don't do much of anything when I'm out there. Drink coffee, sit in the shade, and regenerate," he said. "When I come home, I hit the ground running, except I'm a bit slower, now."

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