Three Cheers for Volunteers: Bob Minthorn and Sue Croley

Bob Minthorn and Sue Croley haul Brazilian pepper limbs to the shredder at a recent
Give a Day for the Bay at Sun City Heritage Park in Ruskin.

Bob Minthorn learned the hard way never to leave a meeting early. He couldn't stay to the end of a town hall assembly following the 1988 phosphoric acid spill in the Alafia River and it wasn't until the next day that he found out that he had been elected chairman of Cargill's Citizen Advisory Committee.

Fifteen years later, he and his wife, Sue Croley, have become two of Tampa Bay's most active volunteers. Ask them what they've done, and Minthorn pulls out a handwritten list to make sure he hasn't forgotten anything: along with the Cargill committee, he's served on the Southwest Florida Water Management District's Alafia Basin Board, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program's Community Advisory Committee, and the board of Tampa Bay Watch, plus he works as a docent at TECO's Manatee Viewing Center.

But lest you think they're fair-weather friends who prefer air-conditioning, Croley quickly adds that they've only missed one of the multiple outdoor events scheduled by the estuary program, Bay Watch and Coastal Cleanup. "We'll never have to buy another tee shirt," quips Croley, wearing a memento of the 2003 Give A Day event at Egmont Key where 50 volunteers planted more than 7,000 plants to stabilize sand dunes on the historic island.

Both are former educators who say they're busier now than ever before. Minthorn retired in 2001 after serving as the supervisor of personnel for the Hillsborough County school district, Croley stepped down as principal of East Bay High School earlier this year.

"Once we got involved, we realized we could do something to change things and make them better," Minthorn said. "So many people just fuss about what's happening instead of doing their part."

If they're not volunteering, you might find them in their kayaks - probably with a load of trash on the bow of their boats. "We went out with the South Tampa Bay Paddlers a couple of weeks ago, and they probably thought we were crazy," Minthorn said. "Sue's deck was covered in beer bottles and I had a knife to cut monofilament line out of mangroves."

In fact, they just volunteered to spend more time in their kayaks as part of the Hillsborough River Greenways Task Force project to create canoe and kayak trails. Instead of just enjoying creeks and rivers, they'll be trying out different waterways and making recommendations on which should be included in the county system.

"We're spending more time volunteering than we did working," says Croley who is still trying to decide if she'd rather be a docent at the Lowry Park Zoo or the Florida Aquarium. "The possibilities are endless."

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