Dee and Ron Neukomm
In Prince George, she’s Mrs. Special Olympics and he’s Mr. Rotary. She’s in the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame and he is a past Rotary district governor. Dee and Ron Neukomm have been Prince George’s volunteer power couple for more than 30 years.
In 1986, Dee was a founding member of Special Olympics Prince George and served on that group’s executive in different positions for nine years. Since 1989, she has been the coach for rhythmic gymnastics athletes and has served as head coach at six B.C. Special Olympics Games. Dee has taken athletes to seven Canada Summer Games and was a member of the national staff at three Special Olympics World Summer Games. In 1998, Dee was named both the provincial and national Special Olympics Female Coach of the Year. She has also been the recipient of the 2008 Bobbie Steen Award for leadership in sport and recreation in B.C. in 2008 and the 2011 Sport Hero Award in Prince George.
Besides Special Olympics, Dee’s volunteer career includes work with the Brownies, the Spruceland Community Association, Prince George Iceman, the Salvation Army, the Terry Fox Run and the Relay For Life. With Ron, she remains a fixture each November and December during Operation Red Nose, the annual fundraiser for the Nechako Rotary Club.
Ron’s Rotary work goes far beyond Operation Red Nose. Since being inducted into the Nechako Rotary Club in November 1986, Ron has maintained 100 per cent perfect weekly attendance record for more than 30 years at his own club or through makeup meetings at other clubs around the world. He has served on the club’s executive in various positions, including as president in 1996-97, before serving as assistant district governor for three years. In 20042005, Ron was district governor for District 5040, overseeing 54 clubs and 1,900 Rotarians in the Lower Mainland, the central Interior and the northwest.
On top of Rotary, Ron’s community involvement extends to 11 other Prince George organizations. He has been a director and a vice-president of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce. He is an honorary life member of the Prince George Child Development Centre for his 12 years of service as a director and past president. Ron was also a director of the Prince George United Way for 10 years. He’s currently a director of the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame and volunteered for the B.C. Seniors Games in 2008 and the Road to the Roar Olympic curling playdowns in 2009.
More recently, Ron has made hundreds of trips out to the Ancient Forest over the past several years, working on the construction of the Universal Boardwalk.
Together, Ron and Dee are active volunteers at St. Andrew’s United Church. Dee has been on a longtime member of the church’s fellowship committee while Ron has served on the maintenance committee at the church. Dee has sung on the church choir for decades and continues to organize the church’s silent auction fundraiser.
Both Ron and Dee are Paul Harris Fellows, Rotary’s highest honour for service and generosity to the Rotary Foundation. Service Above Self is Rotary’s motto and it certainly sums up the efforts of Ron and Dee Neukomm.