Extracted from article by James D. Coppinger published in Spark Magazine (March 2025)
Pete McWethy is a lifelong resident of Kalamazoo. He attended both Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Western Michigan University, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting which proved to be a great fit for him. After years of delivering papers for the Kalamazoo Gazette, when he graduated he was offered a position in the paper’s accounting department. This led to a thirty-four-year career with the Gazette.
Although he worked in accounting, Pete always enjoyed working with his hands and tackling projects, and retirement gave him more time to do just that. His biggest home project was designing and building a patio deck off the back of the house. “It’s probably what you’d call overbuilt,” he says, “but it’s still solid after 30 years.” When Pete retired, he knew sitting still wasn’t for him. Community service has long been part of Pete’s life. That commitment was inspired by his father, who volunteered through his church building access ramps for people’s homes and helping with the church food pantry. Pete says that example stuck with him.
In honor of his father—and fueled by his own love of tools and hands-on work—Pete became a volunteer with Milestone Senior Services’ Home Repair & Accessibility Department. The volunteer team is called the Access Construction Team (ACT); the group builds and installs home access ramps throughout the area. Pete says it’s something he always looks forward to, not only for the work itself but for the people. “It’s a wonderful group,” he says, adding that volunteers are always welcome. ACT works alongside Milestone Home Repair staff which includes two licensed contractors.
Milestone Senior Services facilitates the AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP and Senior Companion Programs in Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties. AmeriCorps Seniors empowers people aged 55 and older to serve their communities. The RSVP program connects volunteers with opportunities throughout the community. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Milestone’s Volunteer Services at 269-382-0515 or apply on our Volunteer Services webpage.
