It's the scene out of a '50s movie; she swam competitively at the L.A. Athletic Club and he was a lifeguard at the L.A. Swim Stadium. They met and married -- music swells, scene fades.

Rod and Joan Spears agreed on many things when they were first married but one very important factor to both was volunteering in many ventures. Even before they moved to Sierra Madre they were avid volunteers, and, since moving here, their enthusiasm has grown.

Both California natives, they grew up in Southern California, he as a graduate engineering student, who worked on the famous Space Needle in Seattle, and she with education courses at University of Southern California and Pacific Oaks College. They moved to La Canada where the family lived for 36 years.

Five children later, four of whom live in California (one in Las Vegas), they continued involvement in the schools. Joan was an instructional aide then. After the children pursued college, she went to Caltech to become "secretary to the secretary of faculty." Joan was able to use her education and managerial skills as assistant to the director of a summer program called SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships) that continues today.

"Joan came up with a program she called REACH with the concept of hiring high school seniors, college and graduate students to teach disadvantaged kids, 4 to 5 years of age," Rod explained. It worked so well at All Saints Church, where they attended church then, that they took the program to St. Mark's Church in Altadena.

Rod participated in the famous Voting Rights March in the mid-'60s. "Shortly after that historic march, President Johnson spearheaded the Voting Rights Act through Congress," Rod explained.

During the next decade -- in the '70s -- Joan and a group of other quilters started making quilts for neo-natal babies born at Huntington Hospital. The women continue to meet weekly, making up to 130 quilts a year.

Other "Joan activities" include Sierra Madre Senior Commission, Huntington Hospital, Descanso Gardens, Sierra Madre Chamber Board, Creative Arts Group Board, Civic Club, and Sierra Madre Police Department.

It was in 1999 that the Spears bought a shell of a house on north Canon in Sierra Madre, and, using Rod's talent as a structural engineer, transformed the falling-down house into a handsome home in a beautiful rustic setting. By the year 2000, they were able to move in with the bare necessities, and now it is a dramatic home on a large, wooded acreage.

Rod has a Structural Engineering office in Pasadena and uses his talents on the State Response Team for Earthquakes as an engineer. In the early '90s, he was with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He was also with the 71-member Urban Search and Rescue Team. Then, Sierra Madre Fire Chief Bob Spears asked Rod to become a consultant for the local department. The obvious segue was to be a member of the local department, and now he is treasurer of the Sierra Madre Firefighters Association.

Rod is also on the Regional Task Force Four Board, and, as a structural specialist, is called to various area emergencies to determine the safety of the structures. He was a consultant on a recent fire in Alhambra.

One special love of the Spears is the Southern California Golden Retriever Rescue Dog group. They now own three rescue dogs and a one-toothed, 12-year-old rescue cat.

When asked why the Spears take time for volunteering, Joan said, "We will always be available for projects that are important to us, no matter how small."

They also enjoy spending time with eight grandchildren.