Tomball volunteer wears many hats
Rob Greening, owner of NiteLite's of Houston, a landscape lighting business, makes time to volunteer at every possible opportunity. His volunteer work does not just entail helping people; he teaches them how to help themselves.
Greening was named the Tomball Chamber of Commerce's volunteer of the year for 2012. Each year the Chamber staff gives the award to a volunteer for outstanding service throughout the previous year. The volunteer is known for consistency, dependability and a giving spirit, according to the Chamber. Last year, Greening also received the Rising Star Rotary International for Service Above Self award.
"It's rewarding," he said of volunteering. "I don't like TV. I'd rather go out and do stuff to help people. It's what we're here for."
Greening, who lives with his wife, Sherry, in Pinehurst, is also an instructor with Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a program to train residents in first aid, search and rescue, how to put out a fire, and how to assist in emergency situations, such as a hurricanes and floods.
"When someone's in need, you ought to help them," he said. "But I also teach them. It's really rewarding to see somebody when the light comes on and they've learned what I taught them."
The father of three also volunteers with Houston Ground Angels, a volunteer group that taxies patients flying into Houston for medical treatment from airports to area hospitals.
"That's a $100 or $150 ride downtown in a taxi," Greening said. "My father and father-in-law died from cancer. This is the way I give back to the cancer victims."