Volunteer Par Excellence: Darwin Poulos

Editor's Note: The 29th Annual Joint Community Service Volunteer Awards gave public and lavish recognition for nine individuals who were chosen from scores of nominations. The strong ethos of volunteerism in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills is what many credit as the thing that makes the communities so strong.

 isn't adequate for nine people who have quietly made big contributions over years. So, throughout the coming days, we are reprinting the text from the introductions made for each individual at the Dec. 2, 2011 awards event.

Sharleen Thorson introduced Darwin Poulos this way.

The next recipient of the Los Altos-Los Altos Hills Community Volunteer Service Award is a most amazing person who truly deserves this honor because of his hard work and dedication to our community.

Over the past 18 years, he has demonstrated his commitment to the community by using his many talents as a leader, a team player and as a worker bee. He has served the community in so many different ways in various groups and in various settings.   

As a leader, this individual has been a very effective president of the 700-member Friends of the Library, as well as being an energetic and well organized Book Sale Chairman. His services have been a significant factor in the Friends raising and average of $100,000 a year for the library.

This person has served two four-year terms on the Los Altos Library Commission. As part of this group he has worked on numerous special projects such as the

• 2005 & 2008 Library Parcel Tax Campaigns
• 2010 North County Library Authority Parcel Tax campaign
• The Main Library Traffic Report in 2011; and
• The Library’s Work Prioritization Report in 2010

He is also a Board Member of the Los Altos Library Endowment and attends meetings of the County Joint Powers Authority and the North County Library Authority.

His activities are not limited to the library, however. He has also been an active member of the Peninsula Open Space Trust since 2005, a Trail Center Volunteer and Board Member and a member of Los Altos Voices for Peace.

He tutors math and science for the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District and teaches astronomy at Deer Hollow.

Now, don’t get the wrong idea! This individual does not just sit around attending meetings and giving advice. He gets in there, rolls up his sleeves and does the “grunt” work as well.

You will see this individual lifting, sorting, hauling and organizing books in every imaginable way to fill any need of the FOL. He may also be spotted at the Library Café, filling in as a substitute when needed. Turn around and you’ll find him out there spraying for invasive weeds, monitoring for erosion or acting as a trail patrol volunteer for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.

You may wonder where he gets all this energy.  Well, I looked into this and got the inside “scoop” for you. It turns out that he has a GIANT, RECHARGEABLE, Eveready Bunny battery that he plugs into every night ...and then he just goes, and goes, and goes.

This person is a chemical engineer by profession and has numerous interests and talents which he also uses for the benefit of the community.

He is an artist and photographer and has shared these talents with photo displays in the library and by doing such projects as providing photos for the Main Library Traffic Report.

His interests in biking and hiking have translated into trail building and the development of a Wilderness Press Trail Map for the Midpeninsula.

His interest in Astronomy has benefited Rancho San Antonio where he has hosted star gazing nights for campers. 

The list goes on and on.

This person has SO MANY interests.  In room 7, as we sort books, he is FOREVER picking up some OBSURE book and saying, “Wow, look at this! I had a class in this once.”  Or, “I read this once.” And if not that, it’s, “I gotta read this!”

Now, if you haven’t yet figured out who I’m talking about, I have one more clue. This person may often be seen working in and sporting a tie-dyed t-shirt, with a tie-dyed hankie hanging out of his left rear pocket.

He is always on the move, working for the community, and has endless enthusiasm for whatever he is doing and he is doing whatever needs to be done.

I am thrilled to reveal that the next award goes to DARWIN POULOS.

Editor's note: The original version of this article mis-identified the name of the Peninsula Open Space Trust. This version has been corrected.