The heart of Post Falls

Post Falls Mayor Ron Jacobson bursts into laughter Tuesday evening as Mark Woodworth presents him with the 2023 Post Falls Citizen of the Year Award.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press

Post Falls City Council President Kerri Thoreson and Doyle Jacklin share a smile Tuesday evening as she presents him with the 2023 Heritage Award honoring the Jacklin family during the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce's Community Recognition Gala.

Attendees applaud Katie Huff of the Murray Group as she makes her way to the stage to accept her 2023 Volunteer of the Year Award on Tuesday evening during the Post Falls Chamber's Community Recognition Gala.

by DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer | March 1, 2023 1:09 AM

He's been an active participant in the betterment of the Post Falls community for 40 years.

He's dedicated countless community service and volunteer hours through the Post Falls Rotary Club, the Post Falls Library, the Post Falls Education Foundation and the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce.

He's spent more than two decades with the Post Falls Parks and Rec Commission, Post Falls Urban Renewal Agency and the Post Falls City Council.

He's Post Falls Mayor Ron Jacobson, and now he's also the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce's 2023 Citizen of the Year.

"It's an honor to receive this award and join the long list of people who've received it before me," Jacobson said Tuesday evening, speaking to a crowd of 130 people during the Post Falls Chamber's Community Recognition Gala at the Best Western Plus Coeur d'Alene Inn. This year's theme was "Heart of Post Falls."

During his acceptance speech, Jacobson said he thought about how he became so involved in the community, and his thoughts took him to when he was about 11 and his church league basketball team was undefeated.

"We had a comeback win for the championship, I think I had 26 points, I was voted the most valuable player and I was feeling pretty proud of myself," Jacobson said. "My dad, who was my coach, said, 'Congratulations, well deserved. But you got to remember that you didn't win this by yourself. You had all these teammates who were feeding you the ball and making you better.' So I've tried to carry that forward as I've gotten involved."

He said he gets involved to make a contribution, but he is very much aware that "we'll be much more successful working as a group."

"I say this sincerely — it's not about me, never has been, never will be," Jacobson said. "It's working together with the people that you're involved with to help accomplish things."

Jacobson received a standing ovation, as did the recipients of the Heritage Award: Don, Doyle and the late Duane Jacklin.

The Jacklin family's influence in the Post Falls community extends more than half a century.

"The depth of their impact is impossible to measure or to describe in the time allotted for this presentation," said Kerri Thoreson, Post Falls City Council president and past Citizen of the Year. "It's an incredible journey through the history of our community."

In 2015, the Jacklin family donated 7.3 acres of land where the newly opened Idaho State Veterans Home was built. They supported economic development by helping to create Jobs Plus, they donated the Jacklin Building at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, they established Riverbend Commerce Park in 1998 and donated 28 acres that became the University of Idaho Research Park. They saved the old church, which is now the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center, they developed Rathdrum Prairie Agriculture Lands and farmers to be the largest producers of Kentucky bluegrass seed in the world and, in 2003, collaborated with the U of I to develop the first equine clone, “Idaho Gem,” born in Moscow in May of that year.

Doyle Jacklin said, on behalf of himself, Don and Duane, as well as the entire family, it was a honor to receive the award.

"We've enjoyed being on the prairie, we're all residents of the prairie and we're dedicated to the prairie and Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene area," he said.

This was the 29th year for the Post Falls Chamber's Community Recognition Gala, which even took place during COVID-19 years in a hybrid format.

Chamber President Christina Petit said she always tears up when this event comes around.

"It's the most inspiring night of the year," she said. "The stories that happen in our community and things that our businesses do are just incredible. We get to honor just a small sampling of them. There are so many other stories that are untold, but being able to highlight just a few of them and hopefully inspire other members who are in attendance to step up and do similar types of things means the world to me."

"These people really are the heart of the community," she said.