Presentation Speech for Dick Kreger, Glide First Citizen 2011
Presented by Nancy Kreger, Glide First Citizen 2008

Many of you know that I volunteer at the Helping Hands food pantry, and with the Boy Scout’s Christmas food box program. Well, there’s this cute guy I know who also volunteers there. Tonight I am thrilled to share with you a personal view of our first honoree.

He works on the Christmas program all year, collecting the hundreds of boxes that are needed. Most people can’t imagine what happens behind the scenes to get all those boxes delivered. Weeks before the date, he starts working on addresses and directions. He insists on going to each address to verify who is there and make sure the directions are clear and accurate. I drive; he’s directing and making notes on his hundreds of pieces of paper. At home, there are papers scattered on every kitchen counter and table for weeks. "Don’t move anything," he warns everyone. He knows what every pile means.

By the Saturday of the deliveries, he has grouped the addresses and planned every delivery. He knows how many boxes each delivery vehicle can handle. He gives every Scout and driver a rundown on where to go and what to expect along the way. As a result, deliveries get done faster every year, and we have no boxes coming back undeliverable because of wrong addresses or misunderstood directions.

At the Helping Hands pantry, he’s the lead warehouseman. This too is a behind-the-scenes role, so people don’t see it and realize how important it is. He organizes all the food donations: keeps track of donors, weighs the food, repackages bulk items, and shelves everything. He also makes the monthly food delivery from UCAN to Glide: loading, tying down, unloading, stocking shelves. When Helping Hands needed expanding last year, he was completely involved. For 4 months, he worked construction every day, from foundation to roof. He even approached UCAN on his own to get a grant for much-needed shelves and other warehouse equipment. He has his warehouse perfectly organized, and he knows where everything is. Now, you often hear him say, "Cindy, we had a delivery yesterday. Ah, I love my warehouse!"  Brings a smile to my face everytime.

School kids come into the pantry to learn what community service is all about, some on annual field trips and some to work on a weekly basis. He is amazing with the kids. He’s always teaching, always mentoring. Some are mentally challenged, and he is so gentle, so caring, so focused on helping them learn. "If you stack it this way," he’ll say, "your pile won’t come down." They just love him.

Everybody at the pantry loves him. Here’s the kind of thing he will do. All of the women working there are choco-holics. One will say, "Is there any chocolate around?" Next thing you know, he’s scrounged around, found some, and there’s a piece of chocolate left for each worker.

But he can also drive you crazy. Recycling. He’s a recycling nut. After hours, he’s down there in the dumpster. "Well, this can be recycled." "Why did they put this in here?" He digs through the kitchen garbage and tells people, "Now, you know you can recycle that." He really does drive people nuts. But he makes sure that the tons of paper, plastic, cardboard, and bad food stay out of the landfill.

He also works with Helping Hands’ firewood program. He’ll run down whatever it takes to get wood. Driving along, he’ll see a leaning tree and stop to tell the homeowner, "We can cut that tree for you if you’ll donate it." The wood crew knows that if they see his number on caller ID, they’d better get out their chain saws.

He’s worked for three years with the postal carriers annual food drive. This past year, his heart and his hair were totally involved. He and the other workers said if they met the goal of 2000 pounds, they would "go bald for food." Once they hit 18 or 1900 pounds, people would drive up and ask, "How many more pounds till you shave your heads?" and they’d run home and get more food. Little ol’ Glide went way over their goal and took second place behind Roseburg. Afterwards, he was proud to take off his cap and show what he did to fight hunger.  He'll go bald again this year if we reach 2500 pounds.

The list of what he does gets even longer. He’s served on the Glide-Idleyld Sewer Board as vice-president for 4 years, because he wanted to help get it going. As a Master Hunter, he volunteers with ODF&W, trapping and collaring deer, trapping and relocating turkeys. He volunteers at UCAN in Roseburg. He hauls rock for the neighborhood streets. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for anybody. All in all, one of his nominations – which by the way, I did not write – documented over 11,000 hours of service for the community he loves.

Here are some quotes from friends and neighbors in his nominations: He’s "a go-to kind of guy in all situations," "It’s overwhelming all that he does for the community," "He constantly goes above and beyond," he’s "dedicated and passionate when it comes to community service." I just think he’s an amazing giving human being.

Three years ago, when I was named First Citizen, I told him, "It should have been you up there," and he said, "No, no." Dick, now it is your turn. I am so proud to announce Dick Kreger as 2011 Glide First Citizen.

Presentation Speech for Kitty Davis, Glide First Citizen 2011
Presented by Nancy Kreger, Glide First Citizen 2008

All evening we’ve been celebrating how the people of Glide love to help one another. Our community is blessed with so many organizations where people come together specifically to help others.

But some individuals don’t join organizations, avoid serving on committees, shy away from meetings. They don’t need them.

Our next honoree was nominated for being her own "I will help you" organization. She just does good deeds out of the goodness of her heart.

She is incredibly attuned to needs in our community. She finds out when someone is ill or recovering from surgery, and then she’s there – bringing food, cleaning the house, helping them do their prescribed exercises. She checks on shut-ins and those who live alone. When a senior is running out of firewood before winter runs out, she delivers wood. She pays out of her own pocket for medicines, for food, for meals she’s cooked for others, for gifts. She passes her newspaper around her neighborhood to spare others the expense.

If anyone tries to repay her, at least for her gas, she’ll say, "Oh, no, no, honey, it’s okay - I don’t need that."

She’s known for her gardening – especially in other people’s gardens. When a senior can’t keep up, she’ll be there pruning and planting and weeding. Five or six years ago she noticed that this building’s flower beds and the veterans’ memorial gardens weren’t being tended, so she just did it. She brought plants from her own garden and supplies she had bought in town, and she weeded and planted and mulched.

She house sits, baby sits, animal sits. With her gentle spirit, she takes in every stray kitty, and makes sure all animals are fed. Both the four-legged and the two-legged kind.

I have seen first-hand how attuned she is to the need for food in our community. Every year she helps identify people who should receive food boxes at Christmastime. She has a talent for tracking down people who need food and getting it to them with the least amount of fuss. In her quiet, unassuming way, she finds out where the need is and points help in that direction.

And people trust her. She understands confidentiality. She personally makes many food box deliveries to people who would not be comfortable with anyone else.

At Christmas, she also gives lots of gifts for the gift tree. But she never takes tags off the tree. She just shows up with armfuls of gifts and says, "Give these to whoever needs them."

She knows hunger isn’t only at the holidays. All year long she’ll call the food pantry to say, "I’ve got a family that really needs food – is there a way we can get some to them?" She has also delivered for Meals on Wheels, donated produce from her garden, brought groceries to shut-ins and the sick.

She’s everywhere. She shows up wherever the need is, with her incredible, endless energy. She has touched many lives and hearts in our community.

But she is also one of those people who don’t need or seek attention or praise. Last week, when she learned she’d been nominated, she said she was "astonished." She’ll be more astonished to learn that she was nominated by not one, not two, but three different organizations. The selection committee commented that she is one of those quiet people who so often go unnoticed. She may prefer it that way, but not tonight. Tonight we do notice, and we have the chance to honor and thank her.

I personally love her energy, kindness, and caring. I love her authenticity. She is a tremendous asset to this community. If ever there was anyone who loves to help others, it is our 2011 Glide First Citizen, Kitty Davis.