Dedicated dad volunteers at elementary school

By Melissa Maynarich, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Elementary schools across the metro would be happy to have a volunteer, and one Putnam City elementary school has a special volunteer who's making a difference.

Go to D.D. Kirkland Elementary and chances are, you'll see Billy Greenwood there. You'd probably think he's a paid employee, based on the hours he spends and the chores he does, but he's just a volunteer dad.

"If I'm walking by one of the classrooms, I'll ask a teacher if they need some copying done. There's always copying that needs to be done, that's endless," Greenwood said.

He's a dedicated public servant with 14 years at the Bethany Fire Department. Greenwood was one of the first responders on the scene of the Oklahoma City Bombing.

Nowadays, he's a school volunteer and sometimes Greenwood even takes on the role of "teacher."

"Lots of times, if I don't have a sub...if Billy's not working, I can call him anytime and he is here, you know, within 15 minutes," financial secretary Fonda Watkins said.

Anything that needs to be done, Greenwood does it. There isn't a task that the staff doesn't feel comfortable asking him to help with.

"It's so nice to have a dad figure up here so that we can show all the dads we want them up here to help out," Watkins said.

Greenwood has two kids at Kirkland, 8-year-old Brooks and 5-year-old Will. His actions show he cares about every kid at Kirkland.

"I think he's special because he doesn't know how great he is. You know what I mean? He's just humble," school counselor Mandy Hayward said.

Greenwood said he's not the only one. Parent involvement at Kirkland is great, but he will admit that the work he does to help others is really a blessing to be able to do himself.

"I'm just, uh, part of a little piece of a big puzzle," Greenwood said. "D.D. Kirkland is great."