Presidents of Rotary 2010-2019
Charlie Eglin
President Yakima Rotary Club 2010-2011
I was born in December 1952 and lived my entire life in Yakima, WA. I attended 12 years of Catholic schools prior to 4 years of state colleges at 3 different institutions. I married Leslie Fortier in August 1975 and this year we will celebrate 45 years of marriage. We have 2 children, Kevin born in 1981 and Amy born in 1982. Amy is married to Jordan Matson and they have 3 children we adore.
In June of 1977, with two partners I formed Tri-Ply Construction. I am still active in the business 43 years later but I have amazing partners that run the day-to-day operations. We also have Cabinet Tech, a commercial cabinet manufacturing business serving the northwest and beyond.
My time is consumed with many interests. Golf is frustrating but I can’t think of a better way to be with friends and meet new ones. It is also an easy opportunity to enjoy cigars. Taking walks with my wife is a great way to share our thoughts and keep up to date on what is happening in both our busy lives. I received my private pilot’s license in March of 2000 and my instrument rating the following year. We fly to our vacation home in Seaside, Oregon several times during the summer. In the winter, we fly our plane to Indio, California to escape the cold and snow.
The rest of my time is spent working with nonprofits. I have served on many boards and have learned so much from the other volunteers in our community. Some of my favorites are of course Rotary, United Way of Central Washington, The Yakima Greenway, Junior Achievement, Camp Prime Time and Habitat for Humanity. I feel very fortunate to live and work in a community where volunteering is important to so many people.
Bill Rich
President Yakima Rotary Club 2011-2012
I was born in Yakima in April of 1934, attended St. Paul's grade school, Marquette High School, Yakima Junior College and graduated from Washington State College (now WSU) in the spring 
of 1957 with a degree in Business Administration. I played baseball during all of my school years and was named to the 1956 NCAA Baseball All American third team as a catcher the same year we defeated USC 5-4 in the championship game of the Pacific Coast Conference baseball season. I batted in all five runs in that game.
of 1957 with a degree in Business Administration. I played baseball during all of my school years and was named to the 1956 NCAA Baseball All American third team as a catcher the same year we defeated USC 5-4 in the championship game of the Pacific Coast Conference baseball season. I batted in all five runs in that game.Following WSC, I earned a commission as an officer through the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School and spent two years as the Executive officer, Navigator and Deep-Sea Diving officer aboard the Navy tugboat USS Tawakoni ATF-114 in Pearl Harbor and the Western Pacific. At that time my wife Sue and I were married and we became the parents of two children.
Upon discharge from the Navy I returned to Yakima briefly before employment with Del Monte Corporation took me back to Hawaii. I returned to Yakima a few years later as General
Manager of Jack Frost Fruit Company where I remained until retirement in 1996 at age 62.
I joined Rotary Club of Yakima in 1984 as a way of becoming involved in our community. I was named Rotary Club president in 2011, 27 years later. During my tenure the building of two Habitat for Humanity homes were completed and deeded to two deserving families. I am proud of our Rotary Club and delighted that seven years after my presidency my son Doug also became our club president. Rotary is a strong family.
Dave Hargreaves
President Yakima Rotary Club 2012-2013
David Hargreaves was born the youngest of six children and has been a lifelong Yakima resident with the exception of one-year stints in San Diego and Spokane. He is the Senior Vice President of HUB International Insurance Brokerage and Risk Management. He began his insurance career on June 7, 1976 working for United Pacific Insurance Company in Spokane. 1n 1977 he joined his father’s insurance agency and in 1983 formed Argus Insurance with three other insurance agencies.
President Dave served as President of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Washington and has continuously served on the Washington State Insurance Commissioners Advisory Committee for the past 3 Insurance Commissioners spanning over 25 years. He was commissioned “Honorary Deputy Insurance Commissioner” by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler in 2004 for his work chairing the Washington State Medical Malpractice Marketing Assistance Plan.
His community service exemplifies “Service Above Self” having served on boards and as president of the Providence Health Foundation, Capitol Theatre Committee, United Way of Central Washington, and the Yakima Country Club. He also served on the board of directors of Yakima National Bank, Ready by Five, and Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences Advancement Committee. Currently he is Chairman of the Board of Virginia Mason Memorial Hospital and The Central Washington State Fair Association as well as the board of directors of the Rotary Foundation and United Way Foundation.
Dave met his lovely wife Cindy 30 years ago and they were married on May 9, 1992. Cindy was recently honored with the Rotary Unsung Hero Award and is also active in the community. She is Past President of Junior League of Yakima, the Capitol Theatre Backstage Committee, and the Davis High School PTSA. Together they have two wonderful daughters Haley, age 24 who graduated from the University of Washington and is completing her first year of law school at Seattle Pacific University and Katie, age 22 who is completing her Nursing Degree at Concordia University in Portland. The family has traveled extensively and they enjoy hiking, travel, boating, golf and tennis as well as service to their community.
Dave Dion
President Yakima Rotary Club 2013-2014
Born in Minnesota, raised on Mercer Island, WA, Dave Dion, our Rotary Club’s President in 2013-2014, moved to Yakima in the summer of 1991. He immediately fell in love with this community and made the life-altering decision to leave his career with the telephone company to live here. He was “encouraged” by then Yakima Schools Superintendent Dean Starr to join the finest Rotary Club in the World. It was a perfect opportunity for Dave to give back to the community he loves. He has worked in the financial planning field for 20 plus years.
Dave’s presidency was full of great programs, plenty of humor and community service projects that have left significant footprints in our valley….including a remodeled Yakima Hearing & Speech Center, a new library/reading room at the Henry Beauchamp Community Center and a brand new Yakima Rotary Food Bank in Southeast Yakima.
Dave has two families: his two sons live in Lafayette, CO, and Sammamish, WA, along with three fabulous grandkids and his two daughters live in Yakima. He and his wife, Penny, enjoy movies, exercise and time with family.
John Adkison
President Yakima Rotary Club 2014-2015
John Adkison grew up in Yakima and attended local schools. He was the valedictorian of his graduating Eisenhower High School class. He was very involved in athletics in high school and college. He went to Whitman College and was captain of both the football and track teams there. He ran in the NAIA National Track and Field Championships both his junior and senior year as a sprinter. John went on to the University of Washington Medical School. He was the president of the academic honorary Alpha Omega Alpha on graduation.
John did 2 internships with one in surgery at the University of California in San Diego and a medical internship at Harvard University, Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. He finished an orthopedic surgery residency at the University of California in San Francisco and then did a fellowship in hand and wrist surgery at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh Scotland. John was married during his orthopedic residency to the love of his life, Maureen, who he met while in Boston. Following medical training he returned to Yakima and opened an orthopedic surgery practice with Maureen as his only employee. The practice grew and eventually evolved into Orthopedics Northwest, a large single specialty orthopedic clinic in Yakima.
John was involved in multiple boards including the presidency of the Washington State Orthopedic Association. He was on the board of a local hospital, United Way, the Yakima Museum and others. He represented the state of Washington on the board counselors for the American Academy of orthopedic surgery for 6 years.
John and Maureen had 1 daughter, Kathryn, and 2 grandsons, John and Benjamin-all very special people. John's father was completely committed to Rotary and had perfect attendance for approximately 45 years at a time when make-up opportunities were available only in the 6 days before and after the missed meeting. Vacations were arranged around make-up when John's parents did vacation planning. John had deep roots in Yakima with his great grandfather on his father's side coming to Yakima by wagon train in the 1880s as a blacksmith. His mother was born in Toppenish in 1914 and went through the school system there. She eventually came back to teach at Toppenish High School. His parents met on a blind date at Whitman College.
John's father had passed away before John became president of the Yakima Downtown Rotary Club in the 2014–15 Rotary year. As an only child, John knows that this would have been a highlight of his father's Rotary experience. John viewed his year as Rotary president as one of the highlights of his career in Yakima.
Robert DiPietro
President Yakima Rotary Club 2015-2016
Robert (Bob) DiPietro was born in San Francisco, California. His father’s 13-year professional baseball career took the family to several towns during Bob’s early youth. The family settled in Yakima in 1960 where he graduated from Eisenhower High School. He went on to Stanford University where he studied history and played varsity baseball for four years. He earned All-Pac-8 honors his last two years and was a first-round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1974. He signed with the team but suffered a career-ending elbow injury in his first season.
He joined the advertising and Public Relations firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro where his father was a partner. Bob and Rotarian partner, Rob Phillips bought the firm from their fathers in the early 2000’s. He has received numerous honors from the advertising industry.
Bob was president of the Yakima Rotary club in 2015-2016, but it wasn’t his first time as president of a Rotary Club, having been president of Yakima Southwest Rotary in 1987-1988. He is active in the community having served on the boards of The Capitol Theatre, Provident Services, Greenway Foundation, Yakima Youth Baseball and the Yakima Country Club. He also served as president of several of these organizations.
Bob and his wife Sheryl are the parents of two sons, Joe and Paul. He describes himself as a “sick golfer” and loves to travel with Sheryl visiting family and friends.
Kurt Labberton
President Yakima Rotary Club 2016-2017
Kurt Labberton was born in Yakima in May of 1951. After attending grade school at Roosevelt Elementary and junior high school at Franklin, he graduated from Eisenhower High School in 1969. His senior year, he was able to fulfill a lifelong dream by obtaining an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He graduated from Annapolis in 1973 with a degree in Oceanography and was a Track and Field letterman as a high jumper. His final year he was selected as the 10th Company Commander.
Following Annapolis, Kurt was chosen by Admiral H.G. Rickover for nuclear propulsion training. In 1974, after completing nuclear power school and prototype training, he reported to the USS Tecumseh SSBN 628. He qualified in submarines, served as a Division officer, and passed the Engineer's examination. He was assigned to the commissioning crew of the USS Memphis SSN 691 in 1977.
Completing his naval service, he prepared for a year and then was accepted at the University of Washington School of Dentistry in 1979. He graduated in 1983 and participated in a Dental General Practice Residency at Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital from 1983-1984. He finished his service in 1986, returned to Yakima and assumed the practice of long time Rotarian, Dr. Robert Adkison, father of 2014-2015 Yakima Rotary President Dr. John Adkison.
Dr. Labberton has been active in the Warehouse Theatre Company, where several of his plays have been produced, First Presbyterian Church, the Gap to Gap relay, EPIC, and Delta Dental of Washington, eventually serving as Chairman of the Board.
Kellie Connaughton
President Yakima Rotary Club 2017-2018
Kellie (Schmidt) Connaughton was born April 18, 1959 in Salt Lake Utah and spent her childhood with her four siblings playing and working on her grandfather’s chicken ranch. She was educated in Salt Lake City, graduating from Hillcrest High School where she was a cheerleader and played volleyball. She graduated from Utah State University with a degree in Business Education.
In 1984, she met and married Blaine Connaughton, who is an attorney in Yakima. They have two sons, Jack and Sam.
Kellie has been Regional Marketing Director for Costco Wholesale, and assistant manager of the Warehouse store in Union Gap. In 1995 she switched professions to become the General Manager of the Yakima Sun Kings, a CBA men’s professional basketball team. After leaving the Sun Kings in 1997 she joined the staff of the Memorial Hospital Foundation as Development Director. She is currently the Executive Director of the Yakima Greenway.
Doug Rich
President Yakima Rotary 2018-2019
Doug was raised and invested most all of his adult life in the Yakima area. His career was Banking and Real Estate Development & Consulting before semi-retiring to provide his business experience to his Catholic diocese. An underlying want to serve others manifested through Rotary and also through industry leadership, supporting a center for homeless youth and other business development organizations, and managing a foundation for Naches School District graduates. After his family and church, his second love was performing live music regionally with several bands and being music director at his small parish. With a motto of “Show me by your actions” he tried always to live to that standard. He sends the following message:
Greetings, fellow Rotarians, and sincere congratulations on your 150th year! It was my honor to serve as President for the first half of our 100th Anniversary celebration where we recalled Rotary Moments from our prior 100 years at our Noon meetings. With the assistance of our fellow Sunrise and Southwest Yakima Clubs, and, the Yakima Rotary Trust, we raised over $3,200,000 to open the Rotary Aquatic Center at the Chesterley Park YMCA, funded dozens of academic and vocational scholarships, and, had a great fundraiser/auction/party centered around the theme - "Mission Possible" complete with spies and sleuths. We also managed to construct an education center for a drop-in center for homeless children called Rod's House. Not unlike any other year, we accomplished a lot.
But what really stands out is the comradery and fellowship of our Club. It was in a period of change passing leadership roles to a younger generation who came through with great success! Hopefully many of them went on to preside in Years 101-150. It was also an honor to serve as President 7 years after my father, Bill Rich served; he and I were part of a handful of Parent-Child pairs to serve our Club. The best advice I got after being asked to preside was to make sure I had fun that year. It was a blast and something I'll fondly remember.
Many blessings to you all in your 150th year and into the future!
Doug Rich
100th President of Yakima Downtown Rotary
Eric Silvers
President Yakima Rotary Club 2019-2020
CENTENNIAL PRESIDENT
Eric is a third-generation pioneer of Yakima. Born in Yakima, he was raised by his Grandmother and is married to Ester a retired teacher in the Yakima School District. They have two sons: Evan 27 and E.J., 30 years of age.
He graduated from Davis H.S. in 1976, and attended Washington State University before transferring to Central Washington University where he graduated in 1981 with a B.A in Music Education. He completed his student teaching at Eisenhower High School and Wilson Junior High and was voted "Best Student Director" at State Competition.
He taught choir, band and orchestra in Yakima for 9 years and took the school music program from 12 students to over 250 students. He was on the State of Washington Arts Commission and organized the KBBO Volunteer Gospel Showcase radio program in Yakima that has been on the air for over twenty-five years.
In July 1990, Eric began working for State Farm Insurance as an agent in Grandview, Washington before moving to Yakima in 1997. He has won multiple awards in the insurance industry.
Eric was in the first class of Leadership Yakima and he established the African-American Mentors Program at Davis High School. His community service includes Y.M.C.A., Yakima Valley Community Foundation, and the Farmers Market.
As a Rotarian, Eric participated in National Immunization Day trip administering polio vaccinations to children in Ethiopia. He has served as chair of many Yakima Rotary Committees and is a member of the Yakima Rotary Trust. He is the Musician/Minister of Music at Greater Faith Baptist Church in Yakima.