Faces of Clovis: Marilyn Waayers – President, Kiwanis Club of Old Town Clovis

Marilyn Waayers recently took over as the president of the Kiwanis Club of Old Town Clovis. RON SUNDQUIST/CLOVIS ROUNDUP

FULL NAME: Marilyn Waayers 

PLACE OF BIRTH: “I was born in New York state! I grew up in the small town of Hopewell. As a kid, it was a blast to snow sled and ice skate. When I was 7 years old, our dad passed away. That caused our mom to move to Los Angeles to be near our grandmother, and to get out of the cold weather.”

OCCUPATION: “I retired two years ago after 13 years at Clovis Unified School District. Eleven years were in the Child Development Department registering preschool students and processing billing. Two years were spent at Clovis West High School as the financial secretary, managing a multitude of student body accounts. Prior employment was at Foster Farms in accounting for 10 years, TRW Aerospace accounting for eight years, and another eight years at a Los Angeles-area high school as manager of the student store (this was a particularly interesting and fun job as I was working with administrators and teachers whom I had while in high school).”

EDUCATION: “I went to high school in the Los Angeles area, and attended El Camino College and Modesto Junior College.”

FIRST JOB: “I started working at Crocker National Bank in the loan department. Using a Teletype machine, I would pull up credit information on customers who were applying for a loan, verify their credit rating and type up the loan documents, of which there were many! Most of our customers were applying for auto loans. There was a great camaraderie in the loan department. We had a lot of fun at work.”

FAMILY: “I have been married to John, my high school sweetheart, for 47 years. We have a lot of fun together! We have three grown children: two daughters and one son. They are happy, healthy and enjoy their occupations. We are blessed with eight grandchildren, ages 4 through 18. The youngest will be starting kinder next fall, while the oldest started college this past September. I have five brothers and two sisters, so needless to say I have a lot of relatives. Some of them live in California, while some are on the East Coast.”

CLUBS/ORGANIZATIONS/MEMBERSHIPS: “Currently, I am the president of the Kiwanis Club of Old Town Clovis. I’m very proud of our club’s volunteer work with Special Olympics, putting on the Children’s Electric Christmas Parade, awarding high school scholarships, working at the Clovis Rodeo, cooking Senior Center lunches, volunteering at the CIF state track meet, high school Key clubs, fundraising for Valley Children’s Hospital and more. Our club meets on Wednesdays at Classic Catering in Old Town Clovis. We have a fun time and have various speakers inform us on their projects that they are looking for help on, physically/monetary or both. Anyone is welcome to join! Our website is www.otckiwanis.org

ROAD TO CLOVIS: “After living in LA for 25 years, we moved to the Central Valley for employment at both Stanislaus State and Fresno State. We love that we could find a slower pace of life.”

FAVORITE FOOD: “Thank God for so many wonderful foods we all get to enjoy. Some of my favorites are fajitas, pizza, chicken pot pie, cornbread and peanut butter cookies – not all at once, though!”

FAVORITE MOVIE/TV SHOW: “‘City Slickers’ with Billy Crystal is hands down my favorite. I enjoy the History Channel, National Geographic, WWII documentaries, HGTV & cooking competitions.”

FAVORITE ARTIST/BAND: “I enjoy Christian artists Lauren Daigle, MercyMe and Chris Tomlin, plus songs from the 50s to 70s. The recent Chicago concert was pretty amazing too.”

FAVORITE BOOK/AUTHOR: “Dr. Kevin Leman, who authors books on family dynamics and hosts a daily call-in radio show. I also enjoy Janette Oke’s novels and Harvey Mackay’s inspirational stories on daily life challenges.”

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM(S): “Growing up in LA, our family attended Dodger games at least once a year. I just can’t convert to being a Giants fan – sorry!”

HOBBIES/LEISURELY PURSUITS: “Travel is one thing I want to do. Last year, we took a 30-day train trip across America. We would be on the train for no more than 24 hours, and then spend two or three days in a city. Along the way we “caught” a Dodgers-Cubs ballgame at Wrigley Field, saw Niagara Falls, National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, attended a concert at the Grand Ole Opry, spent time in my hometown and visited family. More stops were in New Orleans and San Antonio. I totally enjoy dancing; fast, slow, swing and line dancing.”

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?

“I asked my kids this question and here are their responses: ‘Mom is sweeter than pie, gives great back rubs, has a quick wit and likes to be goofy when we are around.’ I love spending time with family. I am fortunate to have my sister and her family, sister-in-law and mother-in-law very close by. I am passionate about ancestry and have about 1,500 family members tracked on my tree.”

WHAT IS SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU?

“I’m ready to take up an instrument – something that’s on my bucket list.”

FAVORITE THING ABOUT CLOVIS?

“I love the downtown shops and all of the festivals Clovis hosts. Our schools are awesome! As a former CUSD employee, I saw firsthand how hard the administration, teachers, board members and staff work to make our schools the success they are.”