Menifee resident Robbie Motter is all about service

Robbie Motter’s catch phrases not only sum up her philosophies. They also give advice she believes everyone should follow:

Together, we can do more.

If we have passion, we can make a difference.

See the potential in others.

Motter is one of the most devoted and active volunteers in Menifee. More than that, she affects lives across the country through her tireless networking projects, especially as an advocate for women’s issues. At age 82, she spends more time in her volunteer positions than many do in their full-time jobs.

Motter has been selected as the latest honoree in the Menifee 24/7 “Hometown Heroes” program, which is designed to recognize local residents who make a difference in the lives of others.

For 27 years, Motter has been involved with the National Association of Female Executives, the largest business women’s organization in the United States. As NAFE’s global coordinator, she interacts with members all over the country. Motter has built 15 NAFE affiliate networks in Southern California and she personally runs five of them herself.

It is not uncommon in a two-week period for Motter to travel to the San Fernando Valley, Marina Del Rey, West Hollywood, even Santa Barbara to oversee NAFE networking meetings. In her “spare time”,  she oversees her newly formed Global Society of Female Entrepreneurs, serves as second and third vice president of the Menifee/Sun City Woman’s Club, and works hard to raise funds for local programs.

All this from a woman who gave up a lucrative career in a civilian position with the government in Washington D.C. to move to Menifee in 1991 and care for a mother she barely knew.

"I never had a father,” Motter recalled. “My mother didn’t want me. I grew up in foster homes. Yet when my mother got sick here, I quit my job in D.C. to come and take care of her and my stepfather.

“Toward the end, we started to have a relationship. My kids couldn’t understand it. They said, ‘Mom, why would you give all that up to move there?’ I had a staff of 800 and I was as high as you could go in civil service.

“I said, ‘Because she’s my mother and if I didn’t, I would be no different from her.’”

Motter was born in Hawaii, where she said she spent little time with her mother. Memories of her childhood are fuzzy.

“I remember that, as a toddler, a German Shepherd used to keep me from crossing the street,” Motter said. “I must have been an adventurer even then. And I remember when I was 4, my mother used to lock me in a closet and go dancing with her third husband. To this day, I’m terrified of small spaces. I can’t have anything closed in around me.”

An only child, Motter recalls being on her own and working in her early teenage years. After moving to the mainland, she worked her way up the corporate ladder in New York before leaving at the invitation to work for the federal government in Washington D.C.

“Toward the end of my career, I never had to look for jobs. People would call and offer me jobs,” she said.

But after her divorce and when she heard her mother in Southern California was ailing, Motter gave all that up to care for her. She hasn’t had a full-time job since; at least not a paying job.

“I thought I would be here a year,” she said. “When my other died, I decided to stay here for my stepfather. I never was paid to take care of him and my only pay was my Social Security. But I would do marketing stuff. And I stayed. He has nobody. He’s in board and care here and I see him about every three days. He will soon be 98. He’s in a fetal position; it’s so sad, but he still does know me.”

Even during all the time she cared for her mother and later her stepfather, Motter became more and more involved in NAFE and seized any opportunity she could to help others. Thoughts of her high-paying jobs back east were pushed to the back of her mind.

“For me, it isn’t about the money,” she said. “I spend more time helping others. I don’t get paid from NAFE, but it’s OK. As you get older, money isn’t as important to you.

“When I was married, I had all the nice things in life. I learned that doesn’t make you happy. What makes you happy is doing good for others and helping them know they have potential.”

So what exactly does Motter do to help others through her connections with NAFE?

“I find them people they can meet,” she said. Our members work on their 30-second intros. People should do that wherever they go. We talk about asking others, ‘What can NAFE do to help you today?’ Whatever somebody answers, somebody else could open that door. Women find it really difficult in asking for help.”

Motter admits that’s a problem she has had herself. When members once asked her why she never asked for anything herself, she responded that she would like a white Maltese dog, 2 years old and spayed.

Within days, one of the members called and offered her the exact breed she was looking for. “Majesty” has been with her ever since.

Motter said NAFE and other she is associated with are different from networking groups that require members to provide job leads at each meeting.

“In those groups, you have to give leads,” she said. “With ours, no one has to do anything.”

But they so often do, both inside and outside the group setting. Motter is always looking for opportunities to help others, either personally or by putting them in touch with the right people in her vast network. She recalls meeting a young girl in the Archibald’s restaurant in Menifee who was graduating from Hemet High School with a straight A average and had qualified to attend Cal State San Bernardino but needed financial help. She had written an essay she asked Motter to read.

Motter read the essay that night and contacted a business associate who was affiliated with the Cash for College program. Through that association, an organization in Temecula ended up giving the girl $1,000 toward her education.

Motter also is a published author and has hosts “Diva Strategies for Success” on blog talk radio. Two of her most recent awards won were from the Multicultural Motion Picture Association for her community service. She is busy organizing Extravaganza 4, an evening of entertainment that will raise money for the Woman’s Club and the Boys & Girls Club of Menifee Valley.

“It’s not about what’s in it for me,” she said. “When I help somebody, I don’t expect anything, any credit. You’re never too busy to help somebody.”