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.