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Roberts roars in Quincy
Rebecca Young/Post-Register
Dennis Roberts is president of the Quincy Valley Lions Club.
Dennis Roberts was born in McCleary, the son of Ronald and Ilene Roberts. His father was a logger and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. Roberts has two older brothers, an older sister and a younger brother. The family grew up in the small town of Satsop, where he went to school in a two-room schoolhouse for first through sixth grades. For seventh through ninth grades, he attended Elma High School.
“After graduation, I went to Washington State University. Go Cougs!” said Roberts.
He was in the forestry management program. Roberts said his entire family had been involved in the forest industry and it seemed like a natural thing to go into. He met his wife, Kristin, in a class. She was studying range management and their classes overlapped.
“It was a program with a lot of men and in walked this good-looking gal. It got my attention and I thought ‘I’ve got to find out who she is!’” said Roberts.
He was attracted to her energy, sense of humor and good looks. The couple started dating. Roberts said he proposed to her by making a cake and spelling out “Will you marry me?” in M&Ms.
“It was kinda crazy, but it worked,” he said.
The timber industry was going through a bad time when Roberts graduated. The spotted owl was a controversial issue in 1988, so his first job was actually working for a farmer. He worked running tractors for Royal City farmer, Mark Valentine, who had grown up down the road from the Roberts family. He then worked for Spud Brown, and then drilled water wells for a year, before getting a job at Columbia Colstor. He and his wife have both been with Colstor for 16 years now.
Roberts said he started out as a line repairman, moving up to inventory and then a supervisor position. About a month ago, he started a new job as a training specialist at the Othello facility.
“It is a whole different skill set. I am learning a lot about teaching. It is going very well,” he said.
Roberts said Kristin, started out as a shipping and receiving clerk at Colstor, working up to become an office manager, then client manager in the Warden branch. She is now an operations manager at the International Office.
Moving to cut on their commutes hasn’t really been considered, said Roberts. His wife drove the 55 miles to Warden for seven years. Now it’s his turn to drive 58 miles to Othello.
“We very much like living in the Quincy area and wouldn’t go anywhere else,” he said.
The Lions Club has been an important part of Roberts’ life. Starting in 1988, he was in the Royal Slope Lions Club in Royal City. He was later a founding member of the Quincy Valley Lion’s Club.
Roberts is currently the Quincy Valley Lions Club president, having previously served as president as well.
He also served as a Guiding Lion, or mentor, for a group that was starting up the Royal City Lions Club.
“It is a great way to get out of the house and spend time with top quality people,” he said about his membership.
Both the Quincy Lions Club and Quincy Valley Lions Club are interested in making the community better, said Roberts. His club is currently involved helping the Kiwanis run the Corn Maze, which runs every weekend now through the end of October.
This winter the club is looking into buying decorations for the downtown area with funds raised at their annual golf tournament and putting on a community Christmas activity. The club is always looking for service projects, said Roberts, whose wife is also a member. Kristin is currently rebuilding a 1950s Ford pickup with her father
The couple enjoy kayaking, riding four-wheelers and going on motorcycle rides.
“I like golf, my wife tolerates it!” said Roberts.
They have two dogs, a 15-year-old beagle named Sadie and Sebastian, a Newfoundland / chow mix.
