Central Dewitt Hall of Fame Induction Class 2012

Central Dewitt Hall of Fame Induction Class 2012

Roger is a 1965 Central graduate who grew up and lives on a farm in Low Moor. He graduated from Iowa Wesleyan College and has been employed since 1981 with the De. Witt Bank and Trust Company. He currently serves as Senior Vice President and Trust Officer. Whether it is his quiet leadership through the De. Witt Community Hospital board of directors or his tireless endowment work through the Lincoln-Way Community Foundation, Central Community Education Foundation and the many other local organizations he serves, he has poured himself back into the same community that created a foundation for him.

Class of 1965 graduate Roger Hill’s name is synonymous with many of the positive things that have happened and continue to occur in De. Witt and the surrounding communities. After graduating from Central Community High School, Hill went on to earn a bachelor of arts degree in business and economics from Iowa Wesleyan College in Mt. Pleasant before entering the banking industry. He has been employed at De. Witt Bank and Trust Co. since 1981 and currently serves as senior vice president and trust officer. Hill never strayed far from the rural Low Moor farm where he grew up and where he and his wife, Pam, raised their two daughters, Kristin and Julie. They now have four grandchildren. He also maintains a 20 -head purebred Angus cow herd and has a collection of antique International, Oliver and John Deere tractors. Hill’s familiarity with the area and his interests in stewardship, education and health care have allowed him to take an active role in De. Witt and the surrounding communities. Remembered as a serious student by his bookkeeping instructor Richard Polansky, Hill left his mark on Central Community High School with

his musical talent both as a trombonist in the band as a member of the chorus. He also was a member of the National Honor Society. Hill’s mother, an older, no-nonsense parent who expected him to go to college, encouraged him to take college prep courses instead of “fluff” and to develop skills and be involved in activities he could use later in life. Among those skills was a respect for his elders and a sense of caring for others that has become something of a recognizable trademark of Hill, whose profession as a trust officer demands compassion, patience and understanding in dealing with the elderly folks who are among his many clients. Donna Helble’s father, the late Donald Helble, was one of those clients. “Roger always treated him warmly and with dignity and respect. He traded farming advice as well as ‘old stories’ with my dad, and that friendship evolved into my friendship with Roger — which has become a professional relationship in which he now gives me farming advice and trades stories. ” Given his serious nature, it is not surprising when Hill thinks back to his favorite times in high school, many of them are connected to his former teachers.

In particular, he thinks fondly of the late Larry Cederoth and the late Jim Raikes as well as Carolyn Eggleston, who gave him vocal lessons, and Polansky. “I believe Miss Eggleston was about 12 years old when she graduated from college, ” Hill says politely. “I was not particularly athletic, but I always worked hard and got Bs in physical education from (Coach Harold) Birney, ” he adds. In fact, Hill recalls he once developed a blister on his back side from doing 500 situps, and still winces at the memory of Birney spraying him with antiseptic. Perhaps in part because he values the education he received at Central, Hill has been instrumental in helping many of his clients establish scholarships at the high school. The stipends serve a dual purpose: not only do they help aspiring graduates attain higher education, but they serve as a lasting memorial to those they honor. Hill likely would consider helping others to be one of the most rewarding aspects of his career. Former De. Witt Community Hospital/Genesis CEO Bob Senneff remembers how Hill took him under his wing when he arrived in De. Witt as “a nervous kid with just three years of CEO experience. ”

“Roger made me feel like the smartest and most important guy in the world throughout the interview process, ” Senneff says. Later Hill would serve as his mentor and advocate — “and for that I was blessed. ” Hill is credited with providing leadership to the local hospital as chairman of its board of directors during the time the organization was exploring and then following through with affiliation with the larger Genesis Health System in Davenport and the subsequent “When Seconds Count” capital campaign. It was that campaign that enabled the hospital to be designated a critical access facility that serves all of Clinton County. Not only does he remain active on the Genesis board, but he also has been recognized with its Pinnacle Award for Leadership. His leadership also has been recognized by the De. Witt Chamber of Commerce, the Low Moor Lions Club, the Paul Sharar Foundation and the Alliance Pipeline Corp. , among the many organizations to which he belongs and serves. Perhaps Senneff sums it up best when he says, “Central High School is richer for having had Roger Hill as part of the fabric of this community for 60 -plus years. I can think of no one more deserving of hall of fame induction. ”

Inducted for Outstanding Contributions as a Distinguished Graduate Roger is a 1965 Central graduate who grew up and lives on a farm in Low Moor. He has never strayed too far away from his childhood home where he and his wife Pam, raised their two daughters Kristin and Julie. Roger is one of the great leaders in our community and he has provided that leadership in a very quiet and non-assuming way. I remember first getting to talk with him at parent-teacher conferences for his daughter and later as he would be visiting an elderly neighbor of ours Lillian Fell. And whether it was at school, or our neighborhood or in the lobby of De. Witt Bank & Trust, Roger always had a great ability of relating to you and really being genuinely interested in knowing what you were doing At Central, Roger was a talented member of band chorus and was also a member of the National Honor Society. Roger graduated from Iowa Wesleyan College and has been employed since 1981 with the De. Witt Bank and Trust Company. He currently serves as Senior Vice President and Trust Officer. But that is just a fraction of what he has used his professional career for. Patti Henrichsen said it best when she mentioned that the foundations and organizations that he is involved with is at the root of what our community does.

He has been instrumental in the success of our hospital with his work on the Community Hospital board of directors as chairman including his work on “When Seconds Count” capital campaign. His tireless endowment work through the Lincoln-Way Community Foundation, Central Community Education Foundation have created many, many opportunities for our schools, teachers and students including thousands of dollars of scholarships. And all the other local organizations he serves such as the De. Witt Chamber of Commerce, Low Moor Lions Club, Paul Sharar Foundation and others is a testament to a life that has been spent pouring himself back into the same community that created a foundation for him. Please help me recognize the newest member of the Central High School Hall of Fame, 2012 inductee… Roger Hill