Tina Hoover

People are not perfect and every society is flawed, but instead of

finding criticism, Tina Hoover looks for ways to make her world

better.

“Maybe that’s why I do what I do, because when you get involved,

you help make it the best it can be,” she said, realizing for the

first time why she has been volunteering her whole life.

A Corona del Mar resident, Hoover works to make her church, her

home and her community the best -- just because they are hers.

Holding prestigious titles such as president and lieutenant

governor of the Kiwanis Club, and being a board member of the Chamber

of Commerce, Hoover works several full-time jobs at any one time. She

doesn’t get paid for them, though. Instead, she generates thousands

of dollars for charities through fund-raising projects.

“I don’t like just doing things, I like doing things in a big

way,” Hoover says.

Adding class to everything she puts her hand on, she moved the

Child Guidance Center’s holiday tree fund-raiser into an elegant

hotel, gave the Habitat for Humanity’s fund-raising yard sale a clean

department-store look and raised the Pacific Coast Triathlon to

national attention and Olympic consideration.

Hoover’s touch is unmistakable, but she attributes success to the

people she works with.

“I am just one more small part, but all of those small parts

coming together make a huge difference,” she says.

An organizer more than a participant, she finds joy in bringing

athletes together through triathlons but confesses that until

recently she didn’t even know how to swim.

Leaving little time for personal goals, Hoover finally had to cut

down on volunteering to achieve her lifelong dream of becoming a

lawyer. This year, at the age of 61, Hoover was sworn in as an

attorney after passing the bar exam on her 20th try.

Now, Hoover has her own practice, new demands on her time and even

more skills to offer. Already, she has taken on three pro bono cases

and has committed herself to working with youth, teaching analytical

thinking through mock trials.

Reluctantly, Hoover has had to take more time for herself to

organize family gatherings, focus on her private practice and work

toward her new goal of becoming a judge.

But Hoover will continue volunteering, planning and organizing,

because that’s who she is, that’s what she has always done and that’s

what keeps her going. She may change the nature of her involvement,

but does not plan to stop giving, because it’s her passion and she

needs energy now more than ever.

-- Story and photo

by Coral Wilson