A man of impact

Rich Houser fights the good fight, receives the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award

POST FALLS — Rich Houser is the man behind the scenes.

He’s the one who volunteers to be sure the finances, the materials, the scheduling of benevolent projects are going according to plan.

He’s the one who does his best to make sure others get the help they need, and he does so with little fanfare.

So when members of the Post Falls Lions Club recently made a surprise visit to his home, he wondered what was up.

And when they presented him with the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, he was humbled.

“To be honest, it’s a little overwhelming,” he said Monday, fighting back tears. “I’m used to being on the other side, the giving side, not the receiving side.

“I just kind of feel like my work isn’t enough,” Houser continued. “Have I done enough for that?”

He has.

The prestigious award recognizes humanitarian service to the highest degree in the community. Houser, Kootenai County assessor, has been a member of the Post Falls Lion Club about 15 years.

The honor comes as he is fighting perhaps his biggest battle, and The Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, he added, bolstered his spirits, “beyond belief.”

In early February, Houser had been having some signs of depression and noticed some weakness in his left hand. Co-workers thought he might have had or was having a stroke so he went to the emergency room.

Within hours, they found he had a level 4 glioblastoma brain tumor. A biopsy revealed it was malignant. He had brain surgery on Feb. 17 to remove some of the tumor but surgery could only get part of it.

So, he is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments to shrink the tumor, “praying for a good outcome, believing in miracles.”

Despite the setback, Houser remains positive.

“I’m getting better, day by day,” he said as he sat in the living room of his Post Falls home.

The list of community groups he has served with is substantial:

• Post Falls Urban Renewal Commission (3 years)

• Post Falls Lions Club member (10 years)

• Post Falls Community Volunteers board (8 years)

• Post Falls Parade Committee (11 years)

• Reverse Job Fair volunteer

• North Idaho Young Life board

• Post Falls Chamber Legislative Committee since 2011

• Idaho Association of Counties Intergovernmental Affairs Committee

His passion to help others goes back to when he was a boy growing up in Tacoma, Wash., in the mid-70s.

In junior high, he played on a football team that lost its sponsor and their season was in jeopardy. The coaches, who were brothers, paid for uniforms and other equipment out of their own pockets. The season went on.

That lesson of kindness and generosity was not lost on Houser.

“They wanted to be sure these city boys had the means to play football,” he said. “It really had an impact on me. I think that’s what really started my passion for giving, especially to youth.”

He went on to serve 12 years on the Boys & Girls Club of Kootenai County.

As well, for 25 years he was a high school and community college wrestling official and was inducted into the North Idaho Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

To summarize, Rich Houser has spent a lifetime giving back.

“I hope I made some impact,” he said.

He did.

Some days, when he’s in stores with his wife, Pam, or on his own, he’ll be recognized by someone he coached when they were a child growing up in North Idaho.

People remember him as a respected mentor, coach and friend.

“They come and say, ‘Hey, thank you for what you did,’” he said.

Which makes Houser smile.

“You never know the impact you’re going to make on someone’s life,” he said. “You just never know and that passion can just keep going.”

Even in receiving the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, Houser manages to credit others.

He said he would normally take the plaque he received to his assessor’s office and display it there, which led him to speak of his colleagues. He said he remains in communication with them on a daily basis as best he can.

“They’re a great team,” he said. “Great people.’

Greg Houser said he is proud of his older brother.

“To have him receive this award, knowing how your brother meant so much to the community, it’s amazing.”

David Armstrong, a son-in-law, said Rich Houser is “all about family. He inspires me. I want to be like Rich. He has such a giving, loving heart for everybody, I just aspire to be like him. He’s my dad. I love him.”

Rich Houser smiles at the compliments paid to him.

He then mentions, casually, that when he was on that football team back in the ’70s, it went undefeated and the defense didn’t give up a single point.

“The first time that ever happened,” he said proudly.

Houser played safety on that unit.

“I was this little tiny kid,” he said.

But that kid was fast.

“I could run back the punts, which I was able to do once, 97 yards, anyway,” he said.

Did he score?

Houser nods. Reached the end zone just in time.

“I ran out of gas at the goal line,” he said, smiling.