Congratulations to Tim and Phoebe Cheney, selected as the third quarter 2024-25 Volunteers of the Quarter for Rural routes.The Cheneys first began volunteering with Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley (MOWSV) when they retired in 2010. Retirement freed up time for new activities, and volunteering with MOWSV came to mind first. It is a well-known program in rural South Monterey County where they live and where many senior residents do not have ready access to grocery shopping. 

The best part of volunteering with MOWSV for Tim and Phoebe (they are drivers and serve lunch at senior living sites in King City and Greenfield) is the friendships made with the clients. “Beyond food delivered to homes, MOWSV visits provide caring and conversation for people who are homebound,” says Phoebe. “Warm relationships develop during these regular visits when volunteers check on the welfare of the residents and hear excerpts from their life stories.”

Before retiring, Phoebe worked 40 years in elementary education in Greenfield, and Tim spent 45 years operating the King City Veterinary Hospital. The hospital generously supported community projects, including financial assistance in classrooms for the purchase of books and other learning supplies. 

Phoebe grew up in the Los Gatos apricot orchards in the 1950s, a small town where neighborly help and community service were the norm. She attended colleges in Redlands, San Bernardino, and San Jose. Her first job was teaching 4th grade in Greenfield, and she remained there until retiring in 2010! For many years she lived on the Arroyo Seco River in Sycamore Flat, to the east of Greenfield. 

Tim was born in Texas and raised in Grainfield, Kansas. He attended veterinary school at Kansas State University and served in the US Air Force in Miami. Kansas was too cold, Miami was too hot, so Tim thought he would try to find an intermediate climate that suited him in California after leaving the service. He worked in veterinary hospitals in the bay area, then in Pacific Grove, and finally discovered the incomparable Salinas Valley and settled in King City. 

Tim and Phoebe enjoy volunteering throughout the King City community. Not only are they dedicated volunteers for MOWSV but they help at 1) Sol Treasures - the King City art center, 2) MCARLM - Monterey County Agriculture and Rural Life Museum  (Tim is part of the tractor restoration team), 3) Adopt-a-Highway - trash collection on Highway 101, 4) The Alliance on Aging - providing services in South Monterey County for seniors and disabled individuals, 5) King City in Bloom - a community landscaping group, and 6) the Salinas Valley Fair - most recently, helping on a mural honoring veterans. Tim and Phoebe were recognized as “Citizens of the Year” for their volunteer efforts in King City and South Monterey County. Congratulations to the Cheneys for their volunteerism throughout Monterey County and being awarded Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley Volunteers of the Quarter.