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| Lenny Byer and Board Member Doug Hardcastle |
For the Contra Costa Times
Last Sunday Red Man-Pocahontas Hall was packed to the gills with Oakley's old guard attending a dinner in honor of Lenny Byer. The event was in celebration of 40 years of volunteer service to the Oakley community as a member of the sanitary district board of directors.
Those in attendance included former members of the Ironhouse Sanitary District board, neighbors, family and friends.
"Lenny is a very talented person and that talent built the sanitary district," said former sanitary district board member Dave Michelson. "He got me involved with the fire department. He changed my life in 1974."
Byer became a director of the Oakley Sanitary District in 1970 -- he was unseated this fall by challenger David Huerta -- but his list of accomplishments as a volunteer to this community starts earlier than that. Byer and his wife of more than 50 years, Joanne, have been a driving force in building Oakley into the community it is today.
In 1957 he became an Oakley volunteer firefighter and served in until he retired in 1997. I first met Byer at a fire in 1989, where he and Oakley's volunteer firefighters were helping the Brentwood Fire Department extinguish a fire in the hills outside Brentwood.
While the fire was moving up the hill, being helped along by the windy day, Byer was a calming force helping to direct those around him and put the fire out as quickly as possible.
Over the years, Byer has been a member of the Brentwood Rotary Club, Brentwood Mosaic Lodge, the Oakley-Knightsen Fire Commission and the Oakley Municipal Advisory Council. He was the owner of Byer Auto Body in Brentwood and as such became an advocate for all the businesses in Brentwood and Oakley.
"Lenny's service to the community started before he was involved in Oakley," reminded Doug Hardcastle of the Ironhouse board of directors. "He was a member of the military before he started volunteering in Oakley."
Several dinner guests stood in front of the audience and Byer remembering years gone by, thanking Byer for the good times and his calming influence, as well as his mentorship over the years.
When it was time for Byer to speak, his words were heartfelt as he remembered former sanitary district general manager Dave Bauer and his wife Sinde. Dave Bauer passed away earlier this year. Byer remembered Bauer for his leadership, saying "he will be missed."
He also thanked the 32-member staff of the district. "I'd put them up against any other sanitary workers in Contra Costa County," he said.
I think Painter said it best when he asked: "Where else have you heard of someone volunteering and having the fortitude and personality to put in 40 years for their community the way Lenny has?"
Byer's wife, Joanne who has been on the Board of Directors for the Liberty Union School District for many years said, "I am very proud of Lenny and his time on this board. Without the sanitary district Oakley wouldn't be what it is today," she said. "Oakley has paved roads and so much more, because of the sanitary district."
The sanitary district has certainly come a long way since Byer started when all there was a redwood septic tank on the river. Today, of course, there's a new state-of-the-art plant, which is expected to be completed next year.
Roni Gehlke is an Oakley resident. Reach her at ourbackyard@comcast.net.
