Saratoga News

Photograph by Arnold Del Carlo

Wanda Allinger was presented with flowers from well-wishers.

Volunteer who can't say no honored by Saratoga Rotary

Friends maintain they can always count on Wanda

Wanda Allinger, 87, "an A-plus volunteer" who has lived in Saratoga for 51 years, was honored recently as Saratoga Rotary Club's Volunteer of the Year.

"You can always count on Wanda. She's an unsung heroine," said member Deborah Coburn Rice, who nominated Allinger for the award.

The recipient, a resident of the Odd Fellows Home, is battling cancer and was unable to attend the presentation. The award was accepted by her daughter, Audrey Adams.

Allinger has spent 20 years working with the PTA and 10 years as a member of Ming Quong's board. She was the chairwoman of the Eastfield Ming Quong Strawberry Festival for years and worked at EMQ's Happy Dragon thrift shop once a week.

In addition, Allinger has served Saratoga First Presbyterian Church two terms as deacon and "is in the kitchen for every bake sale," Rice said.

"No matter what the job or task, you can always count on Wanda to come through," Rice added. "And she does so without complaining or drawing attention to herself."

Allinger has served as an election-board inspector for 30 years. She was awarded a Merit Award and a Decoration of Chivalry, the highest awards given by Rebekah Stella Lodge 22.

She has chaired fundraising efforts for the American Heart Association, the Arthritis Foundation and scholarship programs for students.

"She drove a pickup truck every week to pick up food and distribute it for the Second Harvest Food Bank," Rice said. "It is impossible to get a count on the number of elderly persons Wanda has helped, not only at the Odd Fellows Home, where she has lived the past three and a half years, but all over Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell and Cupertino. She has helped numerous seniors with income-tax returns, checkbook balancing and writing letters."

Dick Spencer, senior pastor at the Saratoga First Presbyterian Church, described Allinger as a woman of great faith and faithfulness.

"She's a woman with a sweet spirit," Spencer said. "She is not a complainer. She just had a big tumor removed, which is scary, but she is just as calm as ever. She is sweet, tender and very solid."

Karin Dowdy, a former Saratoga City Councilwoman and West Valley College board member, said, "Wanda is a marvelous example of a great community activist in the very best sense of the word. She's enthusiastic, upbeat and very positive. She challenges the people around her to be involved."

Dowdy said Allinger has been active in senior housing issues, Highway 85 and West Valley College concerns.