Though Allbee only just assumed his new role, he has a long history with Muscatine Center for Social Action. During his 35 year career with Muscatine Community College, where he worked first in business and industry training and then as the college’s president, Allbee would visit the center, sharing information about programs and continuing education opportunities with residents who could benefit from them.
Following his retirement, Allbee volunteered to assist the Muscatine Center for Social Action with a variety of projects, including helping them as they started the collaborative Fueling the Future program. In 2020, Dahlke invited him to assist with the food pantry, a role he gladly accepted. Since then, he has helped with the food pantry’s deliveries to people who cannot come to the pantry to collect them as well as with coordinating operations inside the pantry. Before accepting his role as interim director, Allbee also served on the Muscatine Center for Social Action’s board of directors and executive committee.
As Allbee starts as interim director, he knows he has much to learn to help him best assist the Muscatine Center for Social Action’s staff members serve others to the best of their abilities. “MCSA does a lot of different work in the community, shelter operations, housing rehabilitation, and food pantry, to name just a few,” he observed. “I’m not a social worker by training, so my biggest challenge is I have a lot to learn.”
Bob Allbee, interim director of Muscatine Center for Social Action. Photo courtesy Bob Allbee.
Even so, Allbee knows that everyone he works with will bring him up to speed on operations at the Muscatine Center for Social Action and help him see ways that he can make programs run more smoothly and effectively until the next director takes over. He will also work hard with the Muscatine Center for Social Action’s many community partners to keep up their strong relationships and to continue meeting the community’s needs together.
Outside of his work at the Muscatine Center for Social Action, Allbee enjoys keeping active at the Muscatine Community Y. He also enjoys walking Muscatine’s extensive trail system. “As with MCSA, those are outstanding quality of life aspects to our community,” he observed.
As the Muscatine Center for Social Action continues their search for a fulltime director, they welcome Allbee’s service in the interim. In a release to the media, Muscatine Center for Social Action Board President Angie Johnson said: “we are thrilled to have someone of Bob’s caliber assuming this important role in our community. Bob, a lifelong resident of Muscatine, brings depth of experience both inside and outside MCSA, which made him our primary candidate to lead the team and broad array of services of MCSA. We welcome Bob to this role!”
