The Charbonneau Villager Newspaper 2020_April issue_Villager newspaper | Page 6

6 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER
April 2020
Service over self
By COREY BUCHANAN
Jake and Dianne
McMichael receive
Rotary award
T
hough they didn’t exact-
ly plan it that way, Char-
bonneau residents Jake
and Dianne McMichael
have dedicated much of their re-
tirement to helping youth in the
Wilsonville community.
Dianne reads books to local
schoolchildren and helps raise
money for foster care programs
while Jake has been deeply in-
volved with the Rotary Club of Wil-
sonville’s youth exchange program
and a new Rotary Club at Wilson-
ville High School.
Together, they make a communi-
ty-minded couple.
“These are both very caring and
warm people who have made it a
point to reach out in the community
and enhance the community and
give back,” Rotary member Curt
Kipp said. “It’s hard to envision a
world where they don’t want to be
involved in something and contrib-
ute. It’s just what they do.”
Jake and Dianne together re-
ceived the Rotary Club of Wilson-
ville’s First Citizen award, given
annually to impactful members of
the Wilsonville community.
The Rotary announced the win-
ner of this year’s First Citizen
award at the 2020 Vision for Ser-
vice: Heart of Gold Dinner and Auc-
tion Feb. 29.
Along with the McMichaels, fel-
low volunteers Kyle Bunch, Katie
Green and Ericka Katz Consilio also
were named finalists for the award.
Jake joined the Rotary around
2000 and is the only member to ever
have served as president twice,
agreeing to hold the post a second
year after John Wysock died dur-
PMG PHOTOS: JAIME VALDEZ
Giving, rather than receiving, is the McMichaels’ forte.
ing his tenure.
“In the Rotary, you are involved in
something that is greater than your-
self, not only in the local community,
but internationally,” Jake said.
To the latter point, Jake is proud
of his and the Rotary’s efforts to
help West Linn resident Debbie
Ethell provide a better learning
space for Kenyan students. Last
year, the club donated hundreds of
desks for students there.
After helping reignite the pro-
gram, Jake continues to play a ma-
jor role in organizing the Rotary’s
youth exchange program, including
sending letters to prospective par-
ticipants, interviewing candidates
and other administrative tasks.
“This is something they (ex-
change participants) will remember
for the rest of their lives. This is a
big deal for them,” Jake said. “They
come back much more mature.”
And Kipp said Jake has been “in-
strumental” in starting the Interact
Club, a program where Wilsonville
High students form their own Rota-
ry Club.
Overall, Kipp said Jake has been
one of the most consistent volun-
teers in the club.
“I don’t know of too many people
who have a greater sense of duty
Jake and Dianne McMichael (left and middle) pose for a photo with
Rotary Club of Wilsonville President Pat Wolfram after accepting the
Rotary’s First Citizen award.
and commitment,” he said.
One Rotary event Jake and Di-
anne have done together is volun-
teering in the storybook corner at
the Rotary’s Through A Child’s
Eyes (TACE) annual event, where
Coffee Creek Correctional Facility
adults in custody spend a fun after-
noon with their children.
“That is (storybook corner) im-
portant to us because a lot of these
kids don’t have a book at home,”
Dianne said. “If you can’t read in
this country you can’t do anything.”
Dianne also reads books to chil-
dren every week at Boones Ferry
Primary School. In certain cases,
she follows the children she reads
with throughout their lives.
For example, Dianne was heart-
ened to learn that one of her former
pupils who struggled in school re-
cently had graduated college.
“I love it,” Dianne said of reading
to kids. “One year I decided I
wasn’t going to do it, but then I
went back because I missed the en-
ergy that the kids have.”
Dianne also has been a member
of the Boys & Girls Aid Cypress
branch, which is a Charbonneau
offshoot that raises money for the
foster care-focused organization.
There, she has helped raise hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars via an
annual crab and rib dinner and has
organized a program where the
branch donates sports bags for chil-
dren to receive on Christmas.
“I think I started (volunteering
for Boys & Girls Aid) because I
looked at our grandkids and said,
‘We’re so blessed.’ They’re smart.
They have everything. And so ma-
ny children don’t. So I just wanted
to do whatever I can to help those
kids who need it the most,” Dianne
said.
When they received the phone
call that they were selected final-
ists for the First Citizen award,
Jake and Dianne weren’t thrilled
about it. They thought other com-
munity members would be more
deserving and said they don’t vol-
unteer to receive recognition.
In fact, Jake felt more satisfac-
tion when he heard former youth
exchange program participants talk
about their experience living in an-
other country during past Heart of
Gold events.
Giving, rather than receiving, is
the McMichaels’ forte.
“Service is what First Citizen
represents and they are a perfect fit
for what we’re looking to recognize
in our club,” Kipp said.