Answering the call of the community

COEUR d'ALENE — When community needs have called, Duane and Lola Hagadone have always answered.

The Hagadones were named Citizens of the Year — the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce's most prestigious honor — on Wednesday during the organization's 103rd annual meeting.

"Lola and I have talked many times about how blessed we are to have watched this wonderful community grow," Duane Hagadone, chairman of the Hagadone Corp., told about 300 attendees at the luncheon. "It's our pleasure to contribute back to the community. This chamber has been a part of the growth and success... We accept our award with honor."

From helping the chamber march forward in its mission to promote businesses to ensuring that children have a safe place after school, the Hagadones have given back.

The Hagadones hosted and paid for the chamber's Celebration in the Gardens fundraiser in July at their Casco Bay home on Lake Coeur d'Alene, which brought in $100,000 for the nonprofit.

The couple in May donated $1 million — and as much as $1 million more in a challenge for the community to match — to the Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County for a future center in Coeur d'Alene. The gift came after Duane and Lola toured the club's Jordan Johnson Center in Post Falls. They were touched by how much the nonprofit makes a difference in the lives of local children and families.

The Hagadones also have contributed their time and money to organizations such as the Kootenai Humane Society, Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre, Coeur d'Alene Library, United Way, the Salvation Army Kroc Center, the EXCEL Foundation that raises funds for the Coeur d'Alene School District, the Horatio Alger Association and the 3Cs (Cancer and Community Charities), which raises funds for other nonprofits.

Duane Hagadone served as the chamber of commerce's president 54 years ago from a small room in the Desert Hotel, where Bonsai Bistro is now located. The chamber had one employee, he said. Back then, the area now occupied by The Coeur d'Alene Resort, which is part of the Hagadone Corp., was a dirt parking area and a railroad switching yard to access the Potlatch lumber mill.

"It's been an amazing transformation over all of these years," said Hagadone, who also was named Citizen of the Year in 1988.

The Hagadones were both born and raised in North Idaho.

Duane Hagadone — who rose from being a neighborhood paperboy to chairman of a diversified corporation that includes newspapers, publishing, property management and hospitality services — was inducted into the prestigious Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans in 2004.

He was inducted into the University of Idaho Alumni Hall of Fame and the Idaho Hall of Fame, and he received the 2005 Idaho Businessman of the Year Award from Idaho State University and the 2006 Idaho Business Leader of the Year Award.

Steve Meyer, principal of Parkwood Business Properties and last year's Citizen of the Year, shared a story about how he was invited to dinner by the Hagadones 45 years ago after Meyer had just moved to the area.

"That extension of hospitality was typical of Coeur d'Alene," Meyer said. "The Hagadones have done a nice job over the years of supporting the community."

During Wednesday’s meeting, Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty owner and broker Gary Schneidmiller donated $50,000 to jumpstart the chamber's $500,000 capital campaign to retire the debt on the nonprofit's building.

"It's just good business and the right thing to do," Schneidmiller said. "It's generosity such as that from the Hagadones that reminds me to step up."

Here are the other award recipients:

• Coldwell Banker sales associate Michael Ward was named the Ed Abbott Volunteer of the Year.

Ward, a member of the chamber's board, is involved in the nonprofit's capital campaign, Business After Hours, Upbeat Breakfast, New Member Receptions, Putt Putt Tournament and Leadership Committee.

"I feel so blessed to be in a community where you see so many people ahead of me paying it forward," Ward said. "That's my simple approach."

• The Leadership Committee was named Committee of the Year.

The group coordinated the chamber's 31st leadership class and started student leadership programs that include students from Coeur d'Alene and Lake City high schools.