File courtesy of Chris Koerber, photo by Susanne Hayek, click to enlarge
Chris Koerber
Election/Seat Sought: Special Election, remainder of 2 years of term for seat vacated by Joe Mosca’s resignation
Campaign web page: www.chrisforsierramadre.com
Campaign Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ChrisForSierraMadre
Bio Information as provided by Candidate:
Our family, wife, Halcyon, children Dan and Katie, and I moved to Sierra Madre from Lakewood, CA in June of 1997.
I was graduated from Kent State University in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. I was able to pay for my entire schooling through my savings earned from 5 years as a newspaper carrier, summer factory work, and a partial academic scholarship from Firestone Tire Co.
Moving to Long Beach in 1980 was a career decision. After working for a time in North Carolina, I was hired by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture as a Plant, Protection, and Quarantine (PPQ) Officer. PPQ is now part of the Department of Homeland Security. During my 11 year tenure I inspected trucks, ocean containers and boarded ocean vessels as well as Navy ships to enforce PPQ regulations.
While working for USDA I met Halcyon. We married in 1984 and moved to Lakewood. Dan was born in ’87 and Katie in ’89. In addition to my full time job, I took courses toward the Certified Financial Planner® designation (CFP) and also started a part time tax preparer business.
Looking to better support my family, I left USDA in 1991 to join New Century Insurance Services as a commission only agent selling Property/Casualty insurance as well as life and health insurance. Since I have been at New Century Insurance we have grown from 4 employees to almost 50 employees. I am currently a partner serving as Vice President of Employee Benefits and Health Insurance. I now work mainly in the areas of retirement plans and medical insurance for groups and individuals.
Raising our children in SM was the right choice! Dan and Katie participated in many youth activities, including Little League, Girls’ Softball, Interact, and the church youth group.
Scouting is an important part of our family. Halcyon’s dad and I both attained the rank of Eagle Scout. Dan was a member of Troop 4, Pasadena, and he, too, attained the rank of Eagle Scout. I was honored to be an Assistant Scoutmaster from 1998 – 2005. Our monthly hikes, campouts and backpacks reinforced my love of open spaces and our local mountains.
Shortly after we moved to Sierra Madre an application was made to build a high school on the Willis Estate at 1 Carter. I became very involved with Residents to Preserve Sierra Madre (RPSM) and was one of the first donors to their cause. Our efforts were successful. In 2004 the developer made a proposal to build several single family homes at 1 Carter. I also actively participated in the EIR scoping sessions and spoke several times during the Planning Commission and City Council hearings to downsize the project and help protect our mountain view.
I’ve worked with Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy (FSHA), Katie’s alma mater, since 2006 as a member of the Development Committee and Flintridge Fund subcommittee. We work to encourage current and past FSHA parents to support the school and keep it financially viable.
As a member of the Sierra Madre Community Foundation (SMCF) from 2004 – 2009 I chaired the grants subcommittee. I think the coolest grant that we funded was “Summer Movie Nights at the Pool”.
The latest project that Halcyon and I started is the sale of used books on line for the Sierra Madre Friends of the Library. We have been able to sell several higher value books and generate additional funds for the Friends.
Halcyon has also been very involved in community work. She is a past president of SM Civic Club; she has been on the Chamber of Commerce Board, Lead Docent for the Wistaria Festival vine tours, worked on the Sierra Madre Rose Float, helped with the Friends of the Library, as well as being very active at church.
My passion is to partner with the community to retain Sierra Madre’s unique culture and heritage and to leave to our children and grandchildren a city that is economically stable.
Responses to SierraMadreNews.Net Candidate Q and A Questionnaire:
Q. What’s your favorite type of music?
A. Country
Q. In or out of that genre, what’s your favorite album/CD?
A. Madman Across The Water – Elton John
Q. What’s your favorite movie?
A. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Q. Who’s your favorite actor?
A. Sean Connery
Q. Who’s your favorite actress?
A. Sigourney Weaver – she reminds me of my wife, Halcyon
Q. What’s your favorite book?
A. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Q. Who’s your favorite author?
A. F. Scott Fitzgerald “The Great Gatsby”
Q. What’s your favorite TV show?
A. Chopped
Q. What’s your favorite meal?
A. Anything with Bacon
Q. Who’s your favorite comic?
A. Jerry Seinfield
Q. Your favorite sports team?
A. LA Dodgers – minus Frank McCourt
Q. Who is/was your favorite president (living or dead)?�
A. General George Washington
Q. Who’s better — Mel Torme or Vic Damone?
A. Mel Torme
Q. Beatles or Rolling Stones?
A. The Stones
Q. U2 or Rush?
A. Rush
Q. Beach Boys or Jan and Dean?
A. Beach Boys
Q. Paper or plastic?
A. Trader Joes’ paper bags – have to donate them to Friends of the Library for the book sale!
Q. What are your hobbies?
A. Reading American History
Q. What’s your favorite sport to watch?
A. Professional Hockey
Q. What’s your favorite sport to participate in? �
A. Running, until the knees wore out. Now it’s walking or hiking.
Q. If you could meet a famous figure from the past, who would you choose and why?
A. Jesus – how amazing would that be?
Q. If you could meet a famous figure from today, who would it be and why?
A. The inventor of the videogame “Angry Birds.” I don’t know if I would congratulate or yell. Probably depends on how the last game went!
Koerber’s website clearly states that donations are NOT tax deductible. 12:38 am must be suffering from sleep deprivation. http://www.ChrisForSierraMadre.com
Sandy,
That’s not what it said last week. And you know it. Get your stuff together before you launch a website. Your inexperience shows.
Anonymous at 12:38 and 1:53 (assuming you are the same person) – your comment was posted today not last week, and while I didn’t notice that you said his site WAS advertising it until your later comment, please be advised that the purpose of these web pages is to introduce the candidates to the residents. It is NOT to allow people who refuse to put their name to their own words to pick petty fights about something which, if it did happen, has apparently been fixed. Anonymous at 9:27 -I cruised around the website and could not find anything that clearly states donations are not tax deductible. I suppose that might show up once you’ve clicked through to donate, which I didn’t do, but when I just checked the website, I didn’t see it. Could you tell me which page it is on?
Please be advised that while I have been allowing anonymous postings (and Anon@1:53, you can clearly see that the posting you are responding to is someone calling themselves Anonymous, not Sandy), if this is the kind of anonymous posting I’ll be receiving, I’ll change the settings. Easy to do. Interesting that the people who have positive things to say have no problem with using a name.
Thanks for your concern. I found the problem – there was an error ONLY in the mobile version to donate.
I brought it to the I.T. specialist’s attention. It has been corrected to “contributions ate not tax deductible” as of 9:30 AM PST 1/17/2012. I apologize for the error and possible inconvenience. Thank you.
NOTE: The Koerber campaign can be contacted through our website – bottom of front page. Thanks!
Umm, claims he’s a certified financial planner yet mistakenly was advertising on his website that campaign donations are tax deductible. Doesn’t instill much confidence.
Excellent! I’d love to see you take Joe Mosca’s place and appreciate all your family’s involvement in making S. Madre what it is today.
Go Chris!….I Admire your commitment.