Volunteer Spotlight

The Membership Committee has selected Ron Orr as its summer 2019 Volunteer Spotlight focus.

If you stop by the church during the week or on Saturdays, you will see Ron diligently weeding the garden, fixing a leaky faucet or helping hang a new art show. On Sundays, Ron will be helping people find a parking space, serving as usher or teaching RE.  You may not see him on Tuesdays because he is in Herndon working at The Closet thrift shop as part of UUCR's cadre of volunteers.

Longtime lead gardener, this year Ron took on (with Ron Bracy through June) the time-consuming job of chairing the Facilities Committee. He recently brought in a landscape consultant to tame the “wilderness” near the deck bridge, clearing the view of our building. He is also planning to have the sanctuary and the deck repainted this summer. On a daily basis, he and the Facilities team attend to plumbing, carpentry and electrical repairs and improvements as well as solving the increasingly complex IT issues our church encounters.

Ron is an active environmentalist and this year partnered with the UU congregation in Oakton in collecting all manner of plastic bags as part of a recycling project. The plastic collected was used to make a composite bench for a local school.

Ron is “a man for all seasons,” having also chaired and supported the Art Committee, ensuring that our sanctuary provides a variety of artwork to decorate our walls while showcasing local artists.

Not everyone knows that Ron has been an active volunteer in our Religious Education program; he's taught several classes including OWL (Our Whole Lives) for middle schoolers – for which special training is required.

If he isn't ushering on Sunday mornings, it's probably because he's in the parking lot rain or shine working with a team of volunteers to help resolve UUCR's ever-present parking problems. And Ron has fun at UUCR too – he is an active participant in the ROMEOS (retired old men eating out) breakfast group.