Locals in the Limelight

lunteers are the heartbeat of our community. These unsung heroes just show up to help and assist with all of the various behind-the-scenes activities that we so often take for granted. In a perfect world, lots of people would all help out a little. But we all know that in the real world it doesn't work that way. Especially in small towns, a small core group of familiar faces do 90 percent of the work.

Justin Parr is one of those people. At Saturday night's New Years Eve Chamber party he was bestowed with the award for "Volunteer of the Year." Justin – or "Parr," as everyone calls him – was a reluctant interviewee. He is humble and made it clear that he doesn't do anything for recognition or awards. It became apparent to me after our interview that he does it, in a sense, because he has to. It is a legacy left to him by his father, something so deeply ingrained in him from the time he was a little boy. Helping people is his calling, and he admittedly told me he has a problem with saying no. "I get suckered into a lot of stuff."

Justin was born in Spokane on May 25, 1981. At the time, his parents managed the Lariat Motel in Ephrata. Justin was born an uncle, with nine half-brothers and -sisters from his parents' previous marriages. He was the only child born to Sharon and Warren Parr.

Shortly thereafter the family relocated to Spokane, where they managed two separate mini-storage businesses for about four years each. His mother did the office work and his father did the maintenance and groundskeeping. From the time Justin was five years old he was assisting around the lot, including running one of the riding mowers to mow seven lawns interspersed throughout the complex. They rode golf carts to check units and make sure they were locked, or to cut locks off of units to be auctioned. I asked Justin if he ever watched the show "Storage Wars." "I love it!" he told me. His most memorable experience was hearing a faint meow and finding a kitten inside one of the locked units. Sadly, the mother and other kittens had died. The surviving calico, whom they named China, became the family's favorite cat, and was brought to Odessa with them.

Due to the ideal high-traffic location, they were often involved in promotions for other companies while working there. The Rock 106 boom box trailer would park there and do remotes. A cookie company also did promotions on their lot. Justin was right in the middle of all of it, this little kid helping out among all the adults. "We got lots of free stuff," he recalled smiling.

The family relocated to Odessa, and Justin started fifth grade. His father had been handicapped (a leg amputee), and wanted to retire. Warren Parr had been raised on a farm in Mohler, and Justin remembers him talking about missing his good buddies – Don Schuh, Carl Knapp and Delbert Cook, to name a few.

When asked what it was like for him when they moved here, he did not sugar-coat it: "Fifth grade was my worst year. I was the new kid. I wore glasses; it was brutal." He spoke of the kids who picked on him.

Shortly after they moved here, an article appeared in the local paper about the new family. Apparently, there was a photo of them in the living room with cases of all his mother's doll collections behind them. "So then, I was the kid that played with dolls, too." Even though he never did, his mom Sharon was, and still is, an avid collector. She has every holiday Barbie since they came out in 1988. Justin and his wife buy her the new one every year, along with the year's collectible Hallmark ornament.

"I had tons of friends when I left Adams Elementary in Spokane, so it was tough after I moved here." He spoke of his worst tormentor, and how they are actually friends now. "We don't go hang out or anything, but he is nice to me." Each year got a little better, and Justin remembers that he made each of the five girls in his class a Christmas gift every year.

His mother Sharon, who is very good at crafts and skilled at sewing, even taught him to crochet. In junior high he and a couple friends put on a dance in the basement of the gym because there was nothing to do. "I brought in my stereo – it was fun." He went to all the dances, he told me. "Are you a good dancer?" I asked him. "Heck no," he laughed.

While in junior high, Justin told me he was starting to get into some trouble. He, along with a small group of friends, got caught smoking in the Lions Club tree house at the park. Kelly Watkins busted them and had all the kids (except Justin) walk over to the police station to meet him there. "I was put in the back of his car, and we drove over." Not certain why, Justin speculates that it was Kelly's way of saying he expected more from him. "That really stuck with me," he said. He remembers that they had to do community service, washing cop cars behind the city shop.

From the time Justin was young, he was his Dad's sidekick. Eagles, Lions Club, community activities – there was Warren with his son in tow. In Spokane, the community was receptive, especially when they realized how helpful Justin was at such a young age. He even received a certificate of appreciation in Spokane for all his efforts. When the family moved to Odessa, it was frowned upon. "I guess I could understand why...it is these guys' night out, and here comes this guy with his kid."

Due to the wide age gap between him and his half-brothers and -sisters, Justin was usually an only child in the household. "My Dad took me everywhere, that was our time," Justin commented. It is that inseparable bond that Warren and his son were best known for. Justin explained that with his father's handicap they couldn't do any sports together, so it was all about working in the shop, hobbies and mechanics. We worked on go-carts, mopeds and dirt bikes. I asked Justin about the memorable red car they used to drive around in. He explained that it was a West

Coaster mail car, a Cushman truckster. Justin said he had been out on spring cleanup day with a group of kids and spotted the old, weathered car at the residence of Rudy Goetz. "My Dad would love to buy that," Justin told him. He hadn't even asked him, but just knew that his father would share his enthusiasm. They purchased the vehicle, and Brad Frederick and Landon Lobe painted it a bright red. Then Lori Anderson painted the large, memorable Tweety Bird on it. I still remember the two of them tooling around town in that car.

His father, who also loved to garden, passed away from lung cancer in 1999 on Deutschesfest weekend. The family places a tomato plant on his grave each year, a loving tribute to the man with the beautiful garden.

In his junior year of high school, Justin attended Big Bend Community College in the Running Start program for English, Math and Automotive. "It was life-changing. I had my independence and got to surround myself with my comfort zone of older people."

In his senior year back at Odessa High School, Justin told me that his class just "clicked" in 2000. "I don't know what happened, but we all pulled together that year." He has fond memories of dances, going to movies with his friends and classmates, "and that great core group of teachers we had: Green, Murchie, Iltz, Ryan."

In his senior year he also started dating his now wife, Natasha Frederick. She was a year younger. Their first date was a dance in October of 1999, and he gave her a promise ring on his senior trip the next summer. They married on May 16, 2003.

Over the years, Justin's career path has covered a broad spectrum. He attended college for a year after high school, but opted instead to go full-time for Haywire Custom Farming. He had been working there in the summers, and he eventually worked his way up to the lead, in charge of contracted straw swathing of 12,000 acres for the Isack Brothers. Haywire was also involved in three corn mazes located in Spokane, Tri-Cities and Yakima. Justin got his friend Ty Barney involved and working alongside him. "You can't believe the revenue those generated," he told me.

Justin went on to work nights as a stocker at the Ephrata Wal-Mart, where his wife was working the day shift. He then moved on to the Tire/Lube Express area on the day shift. For the next four years he worked at the new Home Depot in Moses Lake, starting in the tool rental department and then moving to various other departments before being promoted to assistant store manager. He was in his twenties making close to $50,000 a year but he explained it was 55 hour weeks plus a two hour commute each day. He readily admits that he still catches himself assisting people when he goes to Home Depot in Spokane or other towns. "Especially if they are standing there and can't find anyone to help them," he told me.

While employed there, "I saw some stuff coming down the pike," he explained, and Keith Schafer at Seed-Rite in Odessa offered him a job close to home with winters off. He worked for Keith for the next four years and said "he is the nicest boss I have ever had," explaining what a big heart he has. "He allowed me to take any time off I needed to volunteer for the community. Especially during my Biergarten chairman duties, I was gone a lot. He always supported me in that stuff." Justin's wife works at Wal-Mart in Ephrata as a zone support manager. She has been employed there for the past 12 years.

For the past three years, Justin has been employed by the school district as the facilities director and in maintenance. It is a year-round job, and he wears many hats. With cutbacks, his job description has broadened. He feels honored knowing that he could be hired back at any of his prior jobs. He doesn't burn bridges, and his rapid promotions are a testament to the trust and faith his employers place in him. His volunteer activities are numerous: EMT coordinator, fireman, Chamber, the community float and Lions Club. He also assists with the hospital's wine tasting benefit, the Booster Club auction, and FFA and FBLA when needed. Ironically, he quit Home Depot to have more time, and now he believes he is home even less because of social and volunteer activities.

When Justin and Tasha do get rare time off together, they enjoy getaways with their wave runners and fifth wheel. Justin has a lot of life experience for a young man of 32. He has a fear of dentists and shared with me (off the record) a funny story that was still unfolding as we go to print.

I asked him about his most embarrassing moment. He thought about it and said, "Well, once I danced on the bar Sunday night at the Biergarten in a pink bikini!" Justin served as Biergarten Co-chairman and Chairman for 3 years. It is tradition on the last night to take their shirts off and paint the number of kegs sold on their chest. Justin said that a couple of the recent ones were acting shy about taking off their shirts, so he decided to prove to all of them in his own clever way that it could be worse.

Regarding his award for volunteerism, I asked him what his Dad would have thought about it. "He would have loved it," Justin said. "It wouldn't have mattered if only two people voted; he would have been really proud."

If and when Justin ever decides to become a father himself, I have no doubt he is going to be a great one. His father's devotion and his mother's commitment to caring for her family have left an indelible imprint on him. In turn, our community is a better place due to the helpfulness, reliability and caring of people like Justin Parr.