Staff, community congratulate longtime Hayden mayor McIntire
<p>Ron McIntire will be taking home his gavel he used as Mayor of Hayden since 2000 as he steps down from the position this month and hands the reins over to the city's new mayor. He is photographed here on Wednesday at Hayden City Hall.</p>
<p>Hayden Mayor Ron McIntire, center, shakes hands with Hayden City Attorney John Cafferty as Jerry Mason, former Hayden city attorney, watches on Wednesday at Hayden City Hall. McIntire, who has been the Mayor of Hayden for 16 years, will be stepping down from his position this month.</p>
HAYDEN — When Ron McIntire takes his leave as the mayor of Hayden, he'll also be taking with him a reminder of his 16 years at the helm — a gavel.
"There’s a man here in town that makes the gavels; it’s got a little glass thing and he puts your name on it," McIntire said with a grin. "He hasn’t had to build one in a while. Every mayor leaves with his gavel."
During an open house celebration Wednesday afternoon in the Hayden City Hall Council Chambers, McIntire was honored with a gift to accompany the gavel, which he will receive during the next Hayden City Council meeting, when Steve Griffitts officially takes over as mayor.
"We know you have a lot of plaques, because you do a lot of things, so we wanted to give you something that’s different than a plaque," City Clerk Vicki Rutherford said as she presented the gift. "Mayor McIntire, we have loved working with you, especially me and the last 10½ years, there have been some very special moments. So we would like you to have this gavel stand because on Tuesday night, you get to have the gavel."
"To Ronald B. McIntire with deep appreciation for 16 years of caring and dedicated service from Jan. 2000 to Jan. 2016," reads the inscription on the small wooden stand.
"It’s just amazing how fast 16 years goes," McIntire said as he addressed the roughly 30 people in the room. "The city financially is in great shape, we’ve got the best staff I’ve ever worked with and the incoming mayor is one of my little friends for 40-something years. We’re hoping that everything will continue to go like it is, only better. Every time there’s a change, it seems to improve and go up, and I think that's the way it should be.
"And I’m going to enjoy my 80th birthday," he said as the crowd laughed and applauded.
People took pictures with McIntire or congratulated him with hugs and handshakes as they enjoyed refreshments and reminisced about the last 16 years. McIntire said it's "a little unnerving" to say goodbye, but "it's not that they can’t do without me, but I’ll miss them. But it’s all right. And like I said, every time there’s a change, it usually raises the level of big projects and good stuff."
A slideshow of memories was projected on a wall, including images from McIntire's many mayoral activities — honoring veterans, presenting at Arbor Day and Christmas events, cutting ribbons with oversized scissors, honoring Boy Scouts, participating in parades, interacting with youths in the community and more.
Rutherford said she has so many great memories of her time working with McIntire that it's hard to choose just one to share.
"He’s one of the best people I've ever worked for in my career," she said. "I guess what strikes me the most about him is he’s a very caring and very kind man, and he’s very passionate about making this city a place that people love to live in. To me, I see that in everything he says and does. Throughout the years that I’ve been here, I’ve witnessed that continuously. He’s made some real positive impacts on Hayden."
During his tenure, Rutherford said, Hayden has experienced the addition of a few parks and Government Way has been redone, enhancing the beauty and the inviting feeling of the city.
"I would say he’s done a lot to make Hayden a wonderful place to live, and we hear that continuously from people who tour this area and stop by," she said. "They will comment on what a wonderful place this is to visit and they felt so warm and welcome in this city. It draws that sense of community together."
Hayden administrative assistant/Deputy City Clerk Abbi Landis described the mayor as "kind-hearted, selfless and humble."
"He does stuff out of the kindness of his heart and he doesn’t expect anything in return," she said. "Just the way that he is with people, he’s such a good person, all around, and with working with him, that shines through every single day."
McIntire is saying goodbye to his position as mayor, however he said he will continue to be active in his community. He'll still be working and bookkeeping for his Super 1 stores, but he will be enjoying three trips this year — Hawaii for a week, two weeks exploring Alaska and a trip to take "a paddle boat up the Mississippi."
"I got too many things I want to do yet," he said.