While serving as fire chief, Henry Allen said he felt like volunteering was just another part of his job. But upon retiring from his position in September 2009, Allen still felt the urge to remain active in the Selma community.

In the past year alone, Allen has logged more than 2,694 volunteer hours working at as many as four different workstations and 19 different jobs sites for the Dallas County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.

For his hard work and dedication to giving back to the community, Allen was recently named the Dallas County RSVP Volunteer of the Year by the organization’s volunteer coordinator, Evelyn Cox.

“Volunteering is nothing new to me,” Allen said. “The more that people give some of their time to volunteer and give back to this community, the better and stronger we will be.”

Last year, Allen served at numerous sites including the Salvation Army, various City of Selma schools, nursing homes and the Selma Interpretive Center.

Although he admittedly enjoys working at each of the sites, Allen said he most enjoys bringing the word of God to residents of area nursing homes.

“I also spent nine months working with kids as a teacher’s aid and with those in the student adjustment program,” he said. “That was an entirely new thing for me, and it was pretty exciting.”