Peggy Anderson

FLINT, Michigan — In the early 1990s, Peggy Anderson was taking stock of her life. It was an examination, of sorts, and she didn’t like the results.“I told myself that I take good care of my family...I have a good job, but I didn’t have any real community service,” said Anderson, a longtime member of First Presbyterian Church of Flint who, taught elementary school in the city for more than 30 years.Anderson decided she would volunteer her time with Salem Housing, a neighborhood service organization in Flint.“Needless to say, I was lousy at it,” she said. “I’m a lousy painter...I was working in a basement tearing out tile and got an infection. I guess I knew then it wasn’t for me.”Anderson prayed about it and then it dawned on her: Go with what you know.“I thought to myself, ‘I know something about schools. I have a love there. Maybe there is something I can contribute,’” she said. Since then, Anderson has been on the Carman-Ainsworth Board of Education for 16 years and involved in the district in numerous capacities. “I wanted to be a part in being proactive and doing it in a way that keeps it a viable district where needs are being met,” she said. And playing that part has meant being there — a lot.“You can’t really know anything without really being involved in the district,” she said. “If you’re there, and you sit down in the lunch room with (students) and see for yourself, even with small matters, it’s important to see it for yourself. “You don’t know what the needs are unless you’re in and out of the buildings frequently.”These days, some her time outside of school is spent working with the Carman-Ainsworth/Flint Township Senior Center as chairperson of the board. For two years prior, she represented the board of education on the center’s advisory board. Between students and seniors, Anderson says she derives a great deal of joy from volunteerism. But, she’s quick to say that her desire to serve is borne out of obedience.“I really believe that Biblically we are called (serve),” said Anderson, who also leads a Bible study for women on Monday night’s at FPCF. “It’s not enough to go to church every Sunday.”She credits her family for instilling her, at a young age, the desire to make a difference.“My father was always involved in the community,” she said. “That’s what I saw growing up...that’s what my kids have seen as well.”Anderson lives in Flint Township with Bill, her husband of 43 years. She has two adult children and three grandchildren.