Tim Sweeney
Board Member
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TIM SWEENEY RECEIVES KLAHRE AWARD
Local contractor makes a difference with a lifetime of service to youth
Friday, October 10, 2008:
Hood River, Oregon (October 10): Tim Sweeney, long-time resident of the Columbia Gorge and owner of Hood River Construction, has been chosen to be the recipient of the Klahre Award for Hood River County.
This award is given annually to one resident from each county of the Mid-Columbia for distinguished service to children and outstanding achievement on behalf of children. 
Tim was surprised to hear he was being honored. “I like kids. I’ve always liked kids,” he stated. “I guess because they don’t judge me. They like me because I get right down on their level.”
“I got involved with kids and the Next Door because of Michael Mehling,” stated Sweeney. “He asked me to help out and I’ve been showing up ever since.” Mehling was the director of the Next Door, Inc. from 1987 to 1999.
Tim’s commitment to youth goes back to his own childhood.
“My mother, Stella, was in the Marines, and I got my values from her and my dad. With them there was a definite right and wrong, and we had consequences if we did something wrong.”
Once, Tim caught a 9-year-old boy stealing from his company. He went to the boy’s mother and said he wanted the boy to work for free for a week. Tim taught the boy a lot about values during that week together, and he ended up working for him for the entire summer.
One of Tim’s current workers is a graduate of the Next Door, Inc. (NDI) Klahre House program. When other employers were hesitant to hire him, Tim gave him a chance. He’s been working with Tim five years now.
Tim serves on NDI’s Board of Directors and Facilities Committee and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Advisory Board and Bowl for Kids’ Sake Committee. “For a man who hates meetings, he spends an awful lot of time in them,” stated NDI Executive Director Janet Hamada. “He does this because he knows that without governance, guidance and fundraising assistance, we couldn’t do what we do for all the families and children we reach every year.”
“There are not enough words available to thank Tim for everything he has done and continues to do for the Next Door,” said Hamada. “I am thrilled that he is being recognized by the larger community for all his contributions.”
Tim also helps out at NDI’s Klahre House Alternative Day Treatment School in whatever capacity he is needed. He has just completed remodeling The Dalles office of NDI. His remodeling skills have been a boon to more than just the Next Door. He also did an extensive remodel at the Young Women’s Center in Hood River, a transitional housing program for victims of crime who would otherwise be homeless.
Hamada will present the Klahre Award to Tim during the Mid-Columbia Symposium on Children, a forum for people in the Mid-Columbia area who share an interest in the welfare of children. The symposium will be held at the Discovery Center in The Dalles, Oregon, on Friday, October 17, 2008. Visitors are welcome to attend the ceremony from 11:30-12:00 pm.
The Klahre Award was established in 1987 in honor of Jim Klahre, a local businessman and volunteer who advocated for children and helped found the Next Door, Inc.
Past Hood River County winners are Manuel Gutierrez, Lennie Mueller, Rick Negas, Marin Tyler, Bea Scott, Mabel Lucas, Janice Merz, Maija Yasui, Carolyn Bondurant, Aileen Pobanz, Tom Schaefer, Jennie Copper, Dana Lance, Ron & Anita Phillips, Anne Holmstrom, Maria Ramirez, Martha Capovilla & Steve Fisk, Tobi Kuykendall, Chris Burzio & Janette Skarda.
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Photo by Ralph Kupersmith