Spotlight on Volunteers – Richard Kevin
Volunteer donates dozens of hours weekly to community.
Following a hectic 31-year career with Mountain Bell and U S West, retired Cottonwood resident Richard Kevin decided he was simply going to do what he liked to do. Donating dozens of hours each week to community causes, Kevin likes volunteering.
He serves on the Cottonwood Planning and Zoning Commission, the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce, and is Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church’s council president.
Cottonwood Community Development Director Jerry Owen says, “Richard has been an important contributor to the Planning and Zoning Commission. He had a major role in the development of the General Plan and is an influential voice for smart growth on the commission. His career at U S WEST, volunteer work with the Chamber of Commerce, and varied interests allow him to bring a balanced, well-rounded perspective to the Planning and Zoning Commission.”
The community needs individuals who will take the time to study issues and proposed projects and participate in authoring planning documents like the Cottonwood General Plan. In matters brought before the commission, they must fairly represent the public and individual interests, and evaluate matters within the scope of city ordinances. “Often the stance on issues that Commission members take is not a popular one with many in the community, but that is the task that we have,” says Kevin.
Kevin enjoys volunteering at the Chamber of Commerce because he believes it is a primary influence in developing the character of the community. The chamber provides opportunities for the community’s businesses, public services, and government elements to interface.
Kevin greets tourists or others arriving in Cottonwood for the first time. Some newcomers are families relocating to the Verde Valley. Others are businesses considering expanding to the area.
“Whether tourist, potential business investor, or relocating family, it is critical how we present ourselves--first impressions are so important,” Kevin believes. “Tourists typically take up a few minutes of my time, but for families considering relocating, the discussions can be very involved. We should field as many of their questions as we can, and perhaps even present them with questions they should consider.”
The Chamber’s Executive Director Pete Sesow handles business investment inquires. Kevin assists by packaging maps or other materials used by the chamber. He has helped produce and update the maps with a vector-based graphics program he once used for circuit diagrams.
Kevin is council president of Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church. “Church congregation volunteer work is a major contributory factor in the Verde Valley, and Spirit of Joy certainly does its share,” Kevin says. Church volunteers support the Old Town Mission, local needs within Arizona, and world hunger relief.
As part of an Army family, Kevin attended 10 different grade schools in Germany, Japan, and the United States. He attended high school in Baltimore. He has a bachelor’s of science in business administration and graduate level training in digital telecommunications network architectures.
During his career with Mountain Bell and U S West, he helped build the telecommunications network. The planning engineer was instrumental in modernizing many telecommunications installations in Arizona, including Cottonwood. He says the latest in digital call processing and fiber optics were placed in Cottonwood in 1987 or 1988. His last major project before retirement was as project manager for deployment of Caller ID around U S West’s 14 states. “That was four very intense years,” Kevin reminisces. “There was lots of close coordination internally, and very careful spending of a huge amount of capital and expense dollars.”
Concerning growth, Kevin says, “There is a growing segment of the population that views quality of life in rural areas as better than that in the major metropolitan complexes. These people have different expectations than most of the embedded population base in the rural areas, and they bring different skills and resources. These different expectations are bound to subtly shift over time and affect how a community evolves. One huge factor affecting rural areas is the Internet. It is a great communication medium, and has removed some of the inherent penalty in living in rural areas.” In the next ten years, Kevin would like to see more home ownership in Cottonwood and increased per capita income. “Education level and jobs will take us in that direction.” he says.
There are a lot of challenges ahead for Cottonwood, Kevin believes. “In working on the Cottonwood General Plan, it is so obvious that we need to be building infrastructure that will enable us to handle the growth that is coming. This infrastructure needs to be dovetailed with the communities around us to be effective. More capital is the key to moving ahead, and it is just not there. This is frustrating,” he says.
Kevin has been married to wife Barbara for 23 years. She is a retired speech pathologist and worked on staff at John C. Lincoln Hospital in Phoenix. He has two children by a previous marriage, ages 37 and 34. His son works for Intel in Chandler and his daughter lives in Wyoming. She’s studying for the nursing profession. Her husband is a National Guardsman who just began an 18 month assignment in Iraq. They have two children, ages 4 and 7.
Kevin says he’s always had a lot of hobbies. “I have been passionate about hiking, fishing, photography, muzzle-loading rifles, dirt bikes, street bikes, radio control model planes, computer tinkering, and others,” he says. “I have always felt that anything you spend significant hours doing, you should enjoy it, whether it is work, volunteering, or whatever.”
Kevin’s advice to community members is simple, “Make a point of thanking your elected leaders and city staff for all they do, even if you have conflicts with their position on issues. And vote.”
Spotlight on Volunteers is written by Diane Joens on behalf of the Cottonwood City Council. Council members recognize the invaluable contributions volunteers make to the betterment of city government and the community. There are many opportunities to volunteer and make a positive difference. Council members encourage everyone to get involved. Volunteer today!