LaRue McNamara, right, and her fellow Lions Club members collect used eyeglasses as part of a statewide effort to help those with vision problems. Photo by Canyon Lake Insider.LaRue McNamara, a 25-year resident of Canyon Lake, announced that she will be putting her home up for sale in two weeks and moving to Banning, California, to be closer to her family.
Named Canyon Lake Volunteer of the Year in 2002 and Citizen of the Year in 2015, LaRue has spent countless hours helping to make Canyon Lake a better place.
LaRue has served on the Fiesta Day Committee for more than 20 years. She is the president of the Homeowners Club, member and former board member of the Lions and Lioness Clubs, and a former member of the Veterans Day Committee, Community Patrol Committee, Parks and Beaches Committee, and the Roadrunner Club.
In addition to volunteer work in Canyon Lake, LaRue has been a trustee on the Loma Linda Lions Eye Foundation board since 1997. She served as president of the board for two years. She is co-founder of Honor Flight Southland, an organization that transports America’s veterans to Washington D.C., at no cost to them, to visit memorials dedicated to honoring their service and sacrifice to the United States.
“My feelings are that, unless you are involved in your community, you are just a spectator,” LaRue said. “My motto is, ‘Happiness is serving others.'”
