Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Getting to know one of Wilsonville's most active volunteers

• By: Josh Kulla  
• Published: 2/4/2010 11:10:20 AM

Photo By: Josh KullaTop volunteer
Gary Wappes is “generous with his time,” in helping local service organizations, as well as the city’s WERK Day and local theater.

Every community, no matter its size, has a core of residents that seemingly are involved in everything going on in their city or town. From volunteer cleanup efforts to community breakfasts and fundraisers, many of the same people always seem to be involved in helping to make their city a better place to live.

And in Wilsonville, Gary Wappes is one of those people.
 
“In many ways he is,” said Wilsonville resident Donna Bane. “But I think he’s selective, so he doesn’t try to stretch himself too thin.”
 
That selectiveness has allowed Wappes to focus his areas of expertise – organization and finance – on a surprisingly wide range of groups and projects over the years. In addition to his current positions as treasurer for the Wilsonville Kiwanis Club and Friends of Wilsonville Community Center, he is heavily involved in the Kiwanis Club’s annual Kids Fun Run, the city of Wilsonville’s WERK Day, as well as the Wilsonville Theater Company. And that’s just scratching the surface.
 
“He’s generous with his time, and he certainly got the books back in shape for an organization that had kind of gotten a little out of control,” said Peggy Watters, community services director for the city of Wilsonville and a longtime member of Friends of Wilsonville Community Center.
 
“He put the books back in order and its made it a stronger non-profit organization.”
 
Now, those in the wider Wilsonville community are looking to gain wider recognition of Wappes’ contributions. Wappes is one of three nominees for the 2010 First Citizen award, given annually by the Rotary Club of Wilsonville to the person most exemplifying the spirit of community service.
 
This year’s ceremony will be held Feb. 20 at the Wilsonville Holiday Inn.
 
“He’s involved in a lot of things, and I think he really really likes this community,” said Wappes’ wife of three years, Mary Ann Creason. “You know, I think he just wanted to be able to contribute his experience to various projects. I know youth-involved stuff is very important to him, which is one of the reasons I think he got involved in Kiwanis. He wants to give back to the community, so it can stay the way it is.”
 
While readily acknowledging his role in the community, Wappes nevertheless is happy to remain outside the spotlight.
 
“He doesn’t talk about himself,” Bane said, “he just gets in there and does stuff in a very cheerful way. He’s businesslike about things, but also pleasant to deal with. He doesn’t regale you with all of his successes. I think he’s kind of a modest guy.”
 
Professionally, Wappes currently is the CEO of the Oregon Health Career Center, a Wilsonville-based non-profit organization dedicated to drawing young people into careers in the health care field. The OHCC was created in 1994, and until 2002 served the Portland metropolitan area and surrounding counties as the Columbia Willamette Area Health Education Center.
 
Prior to his current position, he worked for other non-profit organizations utilizing volunteers. Thus it is no surprise that he has now taken to emulating the same volunteers he has spent his career working with.
 
“Virtually all of my career has been in running non-profits,” Wappes said. “I’ve overseen volunteers for a long time, and finally a couple of things came together for me. I’m getting to an age where I’m thinking about retirement, and I’m connecting with a community that I feel a real part of. So, I’m sharing what I’ve seen volunteers do in my organizations all along. It never ceases to amaze me how much they get out of it. And I’m transitioning into getting to enjoy that experience.”
 
And how.
 
During the past several years alone, Wappes has compiled a volunteer resume that any Wilsonville resident would be proud to own. In addition to the myriad activities already described, Wappes also has adopted a stretch of Boeckman Road as part of the Adopt-A-Road cleanup campaign and now clears his portion of trash at least once a month.
 
He says it’s one of his most satisfying volunteer activities to date. But asked to pick a favorite, he demurs.
 
“They’re all kind of different,” he said. “One thing that’s really fun is we adopted the stretch of new road on Boeckman, and, really, it’s just picking up trash. But it’s such a beautiful place out there, it’s so much fun to walk along, look out on the wetlands and see the different animals and birds that are there.

“They’re all very satisfying in their own way.”

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