'I love doing it' -- ABQ senior volunteers recognized for years of service

Though he’s lived in New Mexico since 1994, Ron Mansoldo still has a thick New Jersey accent.

A retired real estate salesman, he took joy in explaining how his last name fit perfectly into his profession.

“Sold is in my last name,” he said with a smile. “It’s perfect.”

What’s also been close to perfect for Mansoldo, 80, is the past 22 years he’s spent volunteering for the city’s Department of Senior Affairs. In 2001, he decided to give something back to the community. It was a decision years in the making.

“I tried to get into the (military) service in 1962, and they turned me down because I had asthma,” he explained. “So I decided when I retire, I was going to give back by volunteering someplace.”

That opportunity to volunteer presented itself in the form of driving seniors around the state, a job that Mansoldo said is an adventure for himself and his passengers on journeys to Santa Fe, Santa Rosa, Jemez Springs and seemingly everywhere in between.

“Seniors are a great bunch of people and (they) love to just go out a lot and it’s a great old time we have,” he said.

While Mansoldo said he doesn’t volunteer for the recognition, he and 80 other seniors were recognized on Friday during a pinning ceremony hosted by the city of Albuquerque’s Department of Senior Affairs at the Albuquerque Museum.

Volunteers received pins for five, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years of service to Albuquerque’s senior community.

Albuquerque’s first lady Elizabeth Kistin Keller was on hand to celebrate these honorees. She called their experience and willingness to volunteer to the city a testament to their character.

“We’re inspired by the energy they bring to this work, we’re inspired by the ideas they bring to this work. Both are rooted in their knowledge and experience over decades,” Kistin Keller said.

In total, 40 volunteers received pins for five years of service; 28 received pins for 10 years; four, including Mansoldo, received pins for 20 years; and Millie Martinez was the sole recipient of a pin for 25 years of service.

“Volunteering has been great for me. I feel connected to the community, I have my social group and I love them, and I love doing it,” Martinez said.

Mostly from Bear Canyon Senior Center in Northeast Albuquerque, Martinez, 86, hosts several “out to lunch” and one “out to dinner” group a month. She sees it as a great way to keep seniors who are single connected to the community and each other.

Martinez received a standing ovation from the roughly 80 people at the event, as she walked up to the stage to receive her pin and a hug from Department of Senior Affairs Director Anna Sanchez.

“Their dedication and the willingness they had to find ways to volunteer, they recognized that there was a need,” Sanchez said. “We’re really grateful they’re able to do that every single day.”