Al Deck to receive Kiwanis 'Lifetime Achievement Award'

Hillsboro, Oregon, Argus
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There is a special presence each Tuesday night at Hillsboro Kiwanis Club meetings. He is as dependable, prompt and warm as the rising sun each morning.

His name is R. Allen Deck. Not many of his fellow Kiwanians know what the R stands for. It could very well stand for "revered" because he is so well-respected, but he responds to "Al" and that's what they call him.

Deck's dedication to the club and its community service activities are well documented and dip into club history as far back as the mid-1960s, when he arrived in Hillsboro. He has had perfect attendance for over 44 years.

While he has worked tirelessly in service to others as a Kiwanian, Deck's impact on the community expands well beyond club activities. He has made a difference for countless lives as a public school teacher and as a member of United Methodist Church of Hillsboro.

Deck retired in 1990 from the Hillsboro School District after a long career as an instructor of instrumental music. His teaching career covered 36 years, the first nine in Seaside. In his 27 years in the HSD, Deck taught at Poynter, Brown, J.B. Thomas and Evergreen middle schools, before capping his teaching career at Glencoe High School. Now Deck teaches his grandkids how to play various instruments, including the trumpet, which he chose to play as a youngster.

Deck has served as a trustee and on numerous committees as a member of the United Methodist Church. When the Salvation Army established itself in Hillsboro years ago, Deck served on its advisory council.

An effective leader in whatever the task, Deck has earned the respect of everyone he has worked alongside. He is a dedicated and loving family man who has—along along with wife, Barbara—raised  three daughters: Jennifer, who lives in Portland; Sarah, of California, and Suzanne, who lives in the Forest Grove area. The Decks celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary in January.

Deck is a quiet but positive leader, uplifting everyone around him. He is more in tune to listening than tooting his own trumpet. A past club president, Deck today is committee chair for Youth Services, which includes the Smart Reading program and the Alternative School scholarships. It also includes the club's involvement in support of the Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp for children and adults with disabilities. His reports to the club on the Mt. Hood Camp are thorough, down to the smallest detail. He previously served on the Mt. Hood Camp Board

Unkind words are not part of Al's lexicon. He'd rather praise than haze. He is a person who will ask how he can help rather than say you are doing something wrong.

If ever there was an individual worthy of receiving a lifetime award for unselfishly giving time, money and effort for the betterment of his or her community, Allen Deck is that individual.

That's why he has been named recipient of the 2009 Lifetime of Achievement Award, presented annually in the name of Kiwanian Dale Scheller, the 2003 recipient who died in July 2004 at age 81.
The award is not solely presented to Kiwanians. Last year the award went to Eldon Kellar, longtime high school track coach who works so hard—even in retirement—to promote athletics for all Hillsboro high schools.

So Al Deck will be honored at a dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, in the lower level banquet room at Cornell Estates, 1005 NE 17th Ave., Hillsboro. Tickets are $20 and the dinner choices are baked tilapia, chicken *** and vegetarian lasagna. Family members and friends of Al's, many of whom no doubt evolved from students to friends over the years, will want to attend this dinner. He is a special man who has touched so many lives.

It's time to strike up the band for Al Deck.