Katie participates in a work day on the De Queen Lake mountain bike trail. Though she doesn’t ride mountain bikes herself, she immediately saw the value of the project in attracting more people to visit De Queen, her hometown.
Katie Hooker, finance manager for Southern Timberlands, doesn’t wait to be asked before jumping in to help. She simply reaches out whenever she sees a social media post or an ad about an organization in her hometown of De Queen, Arkansas, that needs support.
Which is how she found herself volunteering to help a local group that had received a grant to build a mountain biking trail — even though she doesn’t ride mountain bikes herself.
“When the De Queen Lake mountain bike trail is finished, it will attract people from all over the state, and that's good for our community,” Katie says. “The more people we can get to visit De Queen, the more people who might want to live here.”
Katie laughs when she admits that she didn’t initially recognize how much work is involved in building a mountain biking trail. But she knew where to get extra help: her Weyerhaeuser team.
“Katie recruited many other Weyerhaeuser volunteers and organized a volunteer day to support the trail building,” says Douglas Miller, Arkansas/Oklahoma region manager, who nominated Katie for our Volunteer of the Year award. “She’s coordinated other volunteer opportunities for our teams, too, including the Mid-America Science Museum’s annual Tinkerfest. And she manages to volunteer for the King Arts Show fundraiser and serves as a coach for De Queen’s second and third grade girls’ basketball team!”
As part of Katie’s Volunteer of the Year award recognition, she received a $5,000 TREE-mendous Matching Gifts reward, which she’s split between some of her favorite local charities, including the Sevier County Historical Society, Cossatot Arts and Crafts Association, and the Humane Society of the Ouachitas.
Katie (sitting at far left) says whenever she asks her team for help with a volunteer project, they’re quick to say yes. The Weyerhaeuser group was one of many volunteer groups working on the trail consistently for two years, showing the seriousness of their commitment to completing the project and earning it a $200,000 grant from the state of Arkansas in addition to support through Weyerhaeuser’s TREE-mendous Matching Gifts program.
MEET KATIE
Your title is Timberlands finance manager. Tell us a bit about your day job.
I work with our Timberlands operations to provide financial management, forecasting and budgeting that help guide business decisions. I work with wonderful teams across Arkansas and Oklahoma, as well as our Southern Regeneration group. It’s a great bunch of people.
You’ve been recognized for your variety of volunteer efforts in the De Queen community, including efforts to build biking trails, leading canned food drives, raising money for the King Arts Show, and coaching a girls’ basketball team. Is there a common thread that ties you to all these?
I like helping my community. I’d seen ads or posts where each of these organizations asked for help, and I just said yes. Then I try to involve others. For example, when I saw the local food bank post about needing more nonperishable food, I came into work and said, "Let's do a canned food drive."
What motivates you to volunteer?
I was born and raised in De Queen, and I’ve never lived outside Arkansas. My outlook on community has shifted a bit since I had children, who are now 3 and 7 years old. I want to make this a good place for families and children. I volunteer to learn new things and have new experiences, because life is about experiences and about helping make someone’s day better.
What are the community challenges you see that you're trying to address with your volunteer efforts?
I want to give my kids and all the other kids in our community opportunities that are right here in town. De Queen has changed over the years. When I was growing up, we had a skating rink, a bowling alley, hockey clubs and more. Now, all those things are gone. My kids don’t need to have the same opportunities I did; I just want them to have opportunities in our own community, not an hour away.
The old King Schoolhouse in Gillham, Arkansas, is now the Cossatot Arts Center, which hosts the King Arts & Crafts show each year.
What’s your favorite part of volunteering?
Making someone's day better. When I helped with the King Arts Show, I didn't initially know any of the people involved. But they were so thankful to have someone reach out and volunteer for them. They've been wonderful ever since, and I saw how my time made a real difference for them. Plus, my participation gave me a chance to bring in others to help as well.
What’ve you learned by volunteering?
I've learned to look for opportunities, ads or posts asking for help, and to just say yes. I’ve also learned to invite others to join me. My work team is great; it feels like they never say no.
I’ve also learned that volunteering never feels like a burden if you volunteer for something you're passionate about. The more you volunteer, the more people you meet, the more you get involved, and the better your community can be. New experiences are what life's about, so why not branch out and experience everything you can? Doing so can change your life.
What’s next in your volunteer plans for the year ahead?
I'll tailor my activities to include my children, doing things they can help with. We've walked the mountain biking trail together, and they even helped move rocks during the build. I also plan to spend time on an idea that came through CuttingEdge to add signage with QR codes along the trails to help people identify different trees. We have a new hospital in town with a walking trail surrounding it, so the signage could also be added there. It’s a perfect fit for Weyerhaeuser, and I’ve already started conversations to see how we can move ahead.
Katie volunteers at the Mid-America Science Museum’s annual Tinkerfest, helping children plant pine seeds to grow their own seedlings at home.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to give back but doesn't know how/where?
Look for local clubs and organizations in your community, then either join their social media pages or check their website to see what they need help with. Next, be open to spending your time. For instance, when we started the trail work, the organization didn't need money. A hundred dollars wasn't going move a rock. It's a lot easier to throw a check at something than it is to donate your time, but often it’s time that your community really needs. And honestly, it's more enjoyable that way.
