When Bob Wroblewski retired from Weyerhaeuser in 2006, he didn’t take up traveling or any new hobbies.
Instead, Wroblewski continued to dedicate perhaps as much as 70 percent of his time to working with some of Federal Way’s community service organizations.
He serves on the boards for Federal Way’s Communities In Schools program, FUSION, Advancing Leadership and the Multi-Service Center.
Wroblewski is also a human services commissioner for the city of Federal Way and has served as president of his homeowners association for 13 years.
The rest of his time is spent reading, spending time with his wife and three grandchildren and enjoying sports.
The Mirror recognized Wroblewski as its Citizen of the Month on a nomination from Tracy Oster, executive director of Communities In Schools.
Though Oster knows many great volunteers, Wroblewski stands out to her for his work with several nonprofit organizations and his high level of commitment to all of them, she said.
Wroblewski was one of the founders of the Education Foundation within the Greater Federal Way Chamber of Commerce, which eventually grew into Communities In Schools.
That he has stuck with the program through the years is impressive, Oster said.
“This is kind of a legacy for him,” she said.
Wroblewski and his wife moved from Indiana to North Carolina and finally ended up in Federal Way, where Weyerhaeuser asked him to represent the company in the Chamber of Commerce.
This gave him opportunities to serve the community and grow connections among other community volunteers.
Wroblewski’s personal philosophy is that the health of a community can be seen in how resources are shared.
“I think Federal Way has a big heart,” he said.
Wroblewski was part of the Chamber’s committee that started Communities In Schools over 20 years ago.
Five years ago the committee officially became affiliated with the nationwide dropout prevention program.
Wroblewski has served as president several times, and currently serves as head of the fundraising committee.
“We’re really having an impact, I think,” he said.
Wroblewski helped found the Advancing Leadership program over 20 years ago to provide leadership opportunities for both high school juniors and seniors and for adults. He has volunteered time to the Multi-Service Center for 15 years and has been the president of FUSION for six years.
Both are programs that work with people in poverty or who are homeless.
“I’ve always valued working in a community,” he said.
Helping community members who are disadvantaged or are facing hardships is a benefit to the community as a whole, helping to promote business and increase safety, he said.
Continuing the work can be challenging, as nonprofits are constantly seeking donations.
“I’m always fundraising for something,” Wroblewski said with a chuckle.
As important — or even more important — is finding people with talent to donate, he said.
Yet the work is its own reward for Wroblewski. It is moving to see the progress people have made when barriers are removed, he added.
The tables were turned on Wroblewski two-and-a-half years ago when he was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy treatments, which required him to carefully plan his volunteering schedule.
“I wanted to stay involved, I didn’t want to feel sorry for myself,” he said.
To stay involved, Wroblewski had to take leaves of absence from some organizations and make sure obligations for others were not scheduled during chemotherapy treatments.
After months of heavy chemo, Wroblewski has been in remission for one year, he said.
While his wife was constantly encouraging and positive — never doubting he would beat the cancer, Wroblewski said — the community support and letters from people whose lives he touched played an important role.
“It was almost overwhelming for me,” he said. “I think it really helped with the remission.”
Just as his cancer battle was a team effort, so is his work in the community. Wroblewski could list 50 people who deserve recognition for their efforts in the community, he said with a smile.
