A New Jersey businessman retired to Ft. Walton Beach to be near his son.

When his wife died suddenly following a heart attack, a hospice bereavement counselor asked him, "What do you want to do?"

He couldn't answer at first, but soon he knew, he wanted to be of service.

We caught up with Mr. London at "one" of his volunteer sites.

Al London has worked in more than a few departments at the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office...Warrants, Records, Special Events, Victim's Assistance, Public Relations And Senior Fraud.

As he worked through the loss of his wife, he found he could best do that by turning his attention to helping others.

Al London, Okaloosa Sheriff's Volunteer; It was quite rewarding from that standpoint when someone would come out of court and say, I couldn't have done it without you. You know, you start walking on air a little bit.

And he walks these halls with an air of confidence...And purpose. In the senior fraud division, a lot of people are counting on him.

Al; It's just a question of the terms of what's going on, how they're going to buy it, and how much it's going to cost.

Al; We're talking about seniors and they're targeted so often. We're doing a service for somebody that otherwise they might be taken.

Ashley Bailey, Crime Prevention Specialist; By just answering the hotline calls, he filters out so much. And there's so much he can handle and we trust him to handle.

Mr. Al brings more than 80 years of life experiences to his volunteer work. He had sound advice for a caller afraid he had written a check to a magazine sales scam artist.

Al; I did a spot check and it looked shady. And it was late afternoon and I said to the gentleman, I would stop payment. And he did that it it proved to be a bad deal.

Ashley; Really allows him to just touch these victims and gives him these tools in his toolbox to really, not only just relate to these people, but to have the patience to sit and listen.

Al; I'll call hime back and we can follow up on that and if it's resolved, then we won't have to bother you with it.

That full toolbox of wisdom and genuine concern is priceless. And at a time when county budgets are tight and getting tighter, volunteers like Al London are treasured.

Charlie Morris, Okaloosa County Sheriff; I could use three dozen Als. I wish I had three dozens Als because he's just that kind of individual you can always rely on. You never have to second chance it. He's always there.

It's mutual. What he's able to give to his community has given Al value too.

Al; You say, I done good.

Angels In Our Midst "Al London"