Tim Allison, 53, moved to Sparks in December from San Jose. “I’ve morphed so many times in my life,” he said recently. “I traveled with the Grateful Dead for six months. I was in a punk band, and I went to a Christian college.” And he worked at Apple for 11 years as a senior supply chain manager.
Senior supply chain manager?
It’s running large infrastructure projects for Apple, [enterprise resource planning] systems like SAP and Oracle. I also did projects for their distribution centers. There’s one in Reno—out in Sparks. I did some projects out there as well. So, that’s why I came out to this area, saw the area. I have a twin brother who actually lives here in Reno, been here 15 years. So that’s been my draw here. Me and my partner have looked to come out here for 10 years and finally pulled the trigger. … I like the climate. I like the people. I like the affordability and the opportunity aspect here. When I did my research, there’s a lot of opportunities to do volunteer work. I wanted to get out of the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley. I like the idea of a smaller commute to get places. … I love the outdoor aspects of the summertime here. I went to almost 10 free shows this year, just going to the rib cook-off and all the things like that. … Been with my partner for 21 years, getting married at the end of the month up at Red Hawk.
Congratulations.
I have a 24-year-old daughter who still lives in the Bay Area. I have an advanced degree in psychology, but I never really used it—a master’s. I wanted to look back, see what was happening, and give back. … My first outreach was to Sierra Safari Zoo.
What drew you to them?
I think that it was so far removed from working with technology. I wanted to get outside. I wanted to feel like I was doing some hands-on work. I didn’t know it would be cleaning manure and feeding animals and taking care of them—exotic animals. I’ve taken care of zebras and tigers and lions and porcupines and camels and baboons. … kind of also wanted to get past my phobia of animals. So that was a draw. And the zoo is a great environment because they welcome volunteers and nurture volunteers.
And you also started volunteering at Our Center?
I started volunteering at Our Center about five weeks ago. As a gay man, I’ve always wanted to give back. I’ve done the pride stuff, but never felt like I was in touch. I was working 70 hours a week at Apple and there just wasn’t that time to really commit to it. … And I really wanted to network with people. I’m opening up a whole new infrastructure. I lived 53 years in the same place, so I had a huge network, coming here where I knew my brother and my realtor, and that’s about it. So, I thought, what better than to man a front desk where I don’t know who’s going to walk in here. … I see a lot of passion with the people who work here—very similar to the zoo. The people who work there, that give their time, really care about the organization.
How do you respond when you hear Adam Laxalt and others running anti-California campaigns?
It’s frustrating, because I think of how California has succeeded and how they’ve built their different demographics. … I’m biased toward Northern California because that’s where I’m from. But I think they can get a lot to offer. I think that’s why the high-tech is moving here. It’s nice to have some of that Silicon Valley experience to come here. There’s a lot of money in California. I think they’re stupid not to open it up. I’m an example. I’m a good citizen. I give back to the community. I believe in investing in where I live.