Colonial Life volunteer keeps on giving

Jim Mayfield believes there are two short steps between the existence of community needs and the efforts required to address them.

For the Columbia man, it all comes down to awareness and time.

“There are so many ways we can improve the area if we just take a little time and do our part,” he said.

Mayfield’s words are supported by his actions. His volunteer activities include working with the Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the American Red Cross and Special Olympics.

Those efforts and others were recognized publicly last week when Mayfield was named Colonial Life’s Volunteer of the Year.

Colonial presented Mayfield the Frank Sumner Smith Jr. Award during ceremonies Friday at the company’s national headquarters in Columbia. The award is given each year to a Columbia-based employee of Colonial Life or the Unum Group who exhibits excellence in community volunteer activities, maintains a positive outlook about volunteerism and has a positive impact on the quality of life in the community.

Mayfield is a director in the company’s claims department and joins an impressive list of volunteers at a company noted for its community service.

Colonial workers logged more than 11,000 volunteer hours in 2007. That included support to the Harvest Hope Food Bank’s emergency food pantry, service projects for the United Way Day of Caring, and knitting caps for premature babies and patients receiving chemotherapy services at Palmetto Health Richland hospital.

“When I look at the past recipients and the things they’ve done to change lives in our community, to be included in that group is an honor,” Mayfield said.

Mayfield’s volunteer work is largely driven by his personal interests. He and his wife, Linda Mayfield, are longtime animal lovers, and he also has donated blood regularly for years.

But many of his other commitments, such as that to Special Olympics, are those shared by other Colonial employees.

“It’s a culture here,” he said. “It’s not just something you go out and do on your own.”

Mayfield has been with Colonial Life for 24 years. He joined the company in 1984 as a junior claims examiner.

He has served as president of the board of directors for the Humane Society and regularly meets with other animal welfare organizations to discuss the role of the Humane Society in the community.

Mayfield is past president of the American Red Cross Apheresis Volunteer Advisory Board and serves as chairman for its speakers’ bureau.

He served as Colonial Life’s 2007 campaign chairman for the United Way and worked with the 2004 Leadership Columbia class to create a mural on the Cayce Riverwalk as a community service project.

Through the years, Mayfield has encouraged other Colonial employees to get involved in the community.

“These things aren’t hard to do. You just need to do it,” he said. “You get a little more out of it than you put into it.”