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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 2018)
PAGE B6, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 9, 2018 Friendships forged success for Keizer’s First Citizen gotten back tenfold. Every little By ERIC A. HOWALD bit you can give back makes a Of the Keizertimes One weekend, about 15 difference,” Egli said. Egli didn’t move to Keizer years ago, Keizer’s newest First Citizen, Joe Egli, wanted to until 1996, but he was a fre- go to Costco and buy a play quent visitor to the area as a structure for his kids, Madi and child and worked here during the summers as a painter be- Noah. However, he didn’t have a ginning at age 13. He eventu- way to get it back to his house ally struck out on his own with after making the purchase. For- a painting business and that’s tunately, one of his neighbors, when his civic engagement be- Mike Kurtz, was an acquain- gan in earnest. Soon after starting his own tance through the Rotary Club of Keizer and he owned a pick- business, Egli was sold a ticket to the Rotary up truck. Raffl e by an- “I went over other Rotarian, and asked him Kim Girouard, if I could bor- and he began row it to go asking how he buy the set, but might get more Mike offered to involved with drive me and the group. then spent the “I remem- whole week- — Joe Egli ber I was sit- end in my ting next to Jim backyard help- ing me assemble it,” Egli said. Hupy at one of the meetings “I didn’t think people did that and he was telling me about the old schoolhouse. It had just kind of thing.” Fifteen years later, he’s still been moved and the plywood somewhat shocked by the kind was still on it and nothing else gesture, but that experience fu- was happening. He thought if els his desire to be an active part he could just get the plywood off of it, people might be more in the community. “Everything I’ve given, I’ve motivated to get involved in “Everything I’ve given, I’ve gotten back tenfold.” KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Joe Egli was honored as Keizer’s First Citizen at a banquet in January. preserving it,” Egli said. Elgi did Hupy one better, he said if Hupy could arrange for buying the paint, he would paint it for free. “In hindsight, I wondered what I was doing offering to do it. It’s a bigger building than you realize,” Egli said with an exasperated chuckle. Still, Egli was undeterred. He would eventually serve as president of Rotary and began taking on larger roles in civic projects. When another mem- ber of Rotary committed the group to helping create the fo- cal point at the corner of Che- mawa Road North and River Road North, Egli quickly be- came the supervisor for the project. Through the enlistment of a small army of volunteers and in-kind donations, the focal point rose up from a gravel lot that was once a gas station. “It was a lot of work, but we put together a $300,000 project on a budget of about $20,000,” Egli said. “That was my fi rst time working with a lot of the other people associated with volunteering in Keizer.” Newton-McGee Plaza was completed in early 2003 and it’s the spot where visitors and new residents discover Keizer motto, “Pride, Spirit and Volun- teerism.” “We were looking for a saying to put on the fountain and we were just tossing out ideas and someone said, ‘Pride, Spirit and Volunteerism.’ We all stopped and said, ‘We’re done.’ Everyone in the room knew that was the right thing to put on there,” Egli said. Christine Diecker, the for- mer executive director of the Keizer Chamber of Commerce, enlisted Egli to run the Keizer Chamber of Commerce’s Eco- nomic Development and Gov- ernment Affairs (EDGA) Com- mittee and that helped him set his sights on a seat on Keizer’s City Council. “I got interested in the council through EDGA. When (former City Councilor) Rich- ard Walsh decided to leave the council, he approached me and asked if I would be interested in running,” Egli said. Egli was and he served one term as a city councilor. Among the major hallmarks of his time on the council were efforts to move the Chamber of Com- merce offi ce to Keizer Sta- tion, ushering in the move of the Festival of Lights Parade to Keizer from Salem, and deter- mining the city’s position in an attempt by Keizer Fire District to annex a portion of north Keizer that was, and still is, served by Marion County Fire District No. 1. More recent volunteer work includes serving on the board of the McNary Athletic Boost- er Club as treasurer and a spot on the board of directors for the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation. His role with SKEF ended up creating an opportunity for him to fl y to southern Califor- nia last year and drive back in a donated bookmobile. “You always hear about peo- ple making trips like that and I fi gured this was my shot. But, man, that was rough. It was like driving a semi,” Egli said. Egli, who is now agent with Brown Insurance Agency in Woodburn, said he feels the relationships he’s developed through volunteering have helped him be successful in his business endeavors. “But that’s always been sec- ondary to the friendships,” Egli said. “I feel very blessed to be around such great people all the time. I feel very successful in business because of the rela- tionships.” (Editors note: In the Jan. 26 edition of the Keizertimes, we mis- takenly reported that Egli was an agent with R. Bauer Insurance.) obituaries Donald Stuart Vowell Jan. 17, 1949- Jan. 15,2018 Don Vowell was born in Schuyler. Over all else, he was Clarkston, Wash., to Raymond extremely proud of his family. Don never outgrew be- and Marcia Vowell on Jan. 17, ing the class clown. His keen 1949. As described by Don, he and wacky wit was a source of and his siblings, Chuck, Anita, entertainment to all. His love and Elizabeth had an “Ozzie of music and photography also spilled over into others’ and Harriet” upbring- lives. His eye for beau- ing. After a brief jaunt ty ran deep. He went to Japan to play in a through life with joy rock and roll band and and even when pulmo- a bit longer in Seattle nary fi brosis took hold, to attend classes at UW, he was determined to he moved to Spokane remain true to himself. where he met his fu- ture bride, Nancy. They D. Vowell He will be missed by many. moved to Unalaska, A memorial service will be Alaska, where he began his 32 year postal career. Eventually held at First Christian Church they moved to Port Orchard, on Marion Street, February 17, Wash., and on to Keizer, Ore., at 2 p.m. A reception will fol- where they settled down and low. In lieu of fl owers, a dona- raised their two beloved and tion to a charity of your choice adored children, Hannah and would be appreciated.
