At Austin's largest employer, there's lots of different tasks that are completed each day.

But many of these same Hormel Foods workers find time in their busy schedules to volunteer and give back to the community.

Vickie Spyhalski, who works in the grocery products division, is the fund development chair for Habitat for Humanity Freeborn-Mower. Spyhalski takes care of grant writing and helps organize special fund-raising activities. She also is on the speaker's bureau for the group.

&uot;On the speaker's bureau for Habitat, I like to talk to churches and organizations about what the group does," Spyhalski said. "I really like the work I do for Habitat because No. 1, it's more than a volunteer group. The work of that group, it makes an impact on a family for an extended period of time."

Spyhalski said seeing the short- and long-term impacts with the recipients is satisfying in itself.

"You're usually helping them go from transient housing - that's not in great shape - to a long-term home to help them raise their families," she said. "It's very exciting to be a part of that."

Spyhalski also helped form a local epilepsy support group that meets monthly.

"Usually, we have between five and seven total (in attendance)," she said. "The format of the group is to talk about how we're doing and what can we do to help each other with the situation that they're in. You really wouldn't want 20 people in a group like that, so that's OK."

Jay Lutz, a corporate telecommunications analyst, has been involved with the Austin Science Fair for the past eight years, six of those as a judge.

Students from third grade through high school can participate in the event. It's when Lutz's son, Christopher, was in the third grade when Lutz first got involved with the science fair.

"I just got called and asked to be a judge way back when," Lutz said. "It's just a blast to see what the kids come up with."

The various ages represented in the four categories bring

various reactions, especially when the contest results are announced. Lutz said this is when being a judge has its perks.

"It's just a blast to see what the kids come up with," he said. "One of the funnest things in being involved with the judging is I know the results before the awards ceremony, so I can watch them to see how they're going to react."

Lutz said the science fair isn't just about a child putting together a project on cardboard and displaying it for others to see.

"There's a lot more to the science fair than the actual project," Lutz said. "They have to present it, in terms of writing something up on it, then present it and they have to answer questions on it and learn what they found out. They have to do it at least three times. Depending on what their topic is, they may have to present it several times. They have to get up in front of people and present it and answer questions. When you go around and judge them, you see them looking at their shoes and mumbling. But at the end of the fair, they get a lot better at presenting it."

Sue Busse, a consumer response specialist, has been a volunteer with the Mower County Humane Society for the past 10 years. She's currently the acting secretary and she also helps out with different fundraisers. Busse has also served as vice president for about four years and she's even cleaned dog and cat kennels.

But probably the most enjoyable part of her service is fostering dogs and cats until a suitable home is found.

"That can be heart-wrenching," Busse said. "You do it for the good of the animals and feel sorry for their situation. So you try and make the best out of a bad situation. The animals at the shelter are there until they are adopted. They can be there anytime from a week and we've had some for up to two years. I've had a couple of dogs for about two years and you want to make sure you have a good home for them. You get very attached to them."

Busse, who lives in rural Austin and has two dogs and three cats, said helping the animals is both good for them and her.

"It's something I feel I can make a difference in," Busse said. "We've had to deal with a lot of abuse and neglect cases. The animals are very abused and neglected and that's very difficult to see. But it feels good to help the animals and give them the daily care and the love.

"That's really why I'm in it -- to help them out."

Dan Fields can be reached at 434-2230 or by e-mail at dan.fields@austindailyherald.com