Dan Keahey has been a community leader for many years and has being involved in numerous organizations and projects all intent on making Lewis County a better place to live. “I love being involved in my community and, with my skills and longevity here, I know that I can help make a difference.” But who is this man and what is his story?
Keahey is a fourth generation Lewis County resident. “From the time I was 10 years old, I had paper routes and I was pushing a lawnmower all over town for summer jobs” says Keahey. He was a starting player on the 1980 Centralia High School Championship football team. “I still have the jersey and my kids wore it for Spirit days at school,” he laughs.
Keahey and his wife, Sheri, were high school sweethearts and after graduation, got married and moved away to attend vocational school and then college. He became an airframe and powerplant mechanic to work on airplanes while pursuing a pilot’s license. Next came college with a focus in business/aviation and successfully earning a commercial pilot license. However, when he was ready to search for a job with the airlines, there were few commercial pilot jobs available due to a flood of pilots that had recently been released from the military. He landed a good job as a mechanic with Alaska Airlines, but several years later, felt the desire for a new challenge and began working on his real estate license in 1995.
The first four years as a Realtor, Keahey spent at Gelder and Associates; the rest of his career has been spent with Coldwell Banker Kline as a managing broker. “I love being a Realtor; my work is different every day. Sometimes it is assisting first-time buyers with the biggest purchase they’ve made and the resultant anxiety, maneuvering through challenging negotiations, or helping a family work through the process of moving a parent out of their longtime home. My clients learn to trust me and I look out for their best interests so that buying or selling their home is a positive experience.”
As to the current housing market in Lewis County, Keahey believes “we are seeing a steady climb in activity, but the houses in the $200,000 to 275,000 range remain hard to sell because many local people don’t have jobs that pay enough to afford these houses. Buyers coming down from Olympia or Tacoma are often the only ones who can afford these houses since their money buys more here than up North.”
And that is why Keahey does what he can in the community to try to help create the jobs that will allow locals to be successful. He has been Chamber Board President, was on the Economic Development Board for a number of years, has served and continues to serve on various committees for special local projects, and has served in public office for over 16 years to help move public policy forward that will make this a better place to live, work and play.
He is now in his seventh year as a commissioner with the Port of Centralia. “My role, along with two other commissioners, is to help guide the vision and goals and create opportunity for economic growth,” he explains. “The Port is always looking for good tenants for their property. I am very comfortable in my role as I can apply my professional skills and knowledge into the decision-making.” As a Realtor, he is always careful to avoid any conflict of interest – “even something that may simply be perceived as a conflict,” he adds.
Keahey served on the Centralia City Council for nine years prior to becoming a Port Commissioner. “We had many major accomplishments in those nine years, including the downtown revitalization, prioritizing expenses to help build a solid reserve account, and making sure our water, electric, and waste water systems would be ready for future growth. But the skate park is one special project I am proud of from my time on the council,” Keahey exclaims.
When he was first elected in 1999, the city was receiving a large number of complaints about skateboarders. He remembers thinking, “these kids are athletes and some of them are really good; they should have a place to practice their sport just like soccer and baseball players.”
“We formed a small group of people interested in creating a positive solution, and Sandy Seeger Short was one of those individuals,” he says. “She knew that it was important for the skate park site be visible and easily accessible, and that skateboarders had to be involved in the creation of their park. We borrowed a church bus and took a bunch of kids down to Portland to visit all of the different skate parks in order to determine what they might want to incorporate into their site.”
Rob Fuller saw what was happening and was very generous. Out of respect to him and his family it is named Fuller’s Twin City Skate Park. The park was created by some very hard working volunteers, over 570 youth, and many local businesses that donated money, labor, and materials for what is there today. Unfortunately, like any sports complex, ageing materials are starting to show serious wear, but Dan is happy to see it become a priority to finally refurbish the park again.
As Chair of the Centralia Christian School Board, Keahey played an active role in the Centralia Christian School moving to their current building. “We had no money and no building. We finally decided to put it entirely into God’s hands and He came through. It’s not our school, it’s God’s school,” he says.
And finally, Keahey is on the Ministry Board at Providence Centralia Hospital, where next year he will take over as chair for a two-year term. He explains, “As a Community Board member my job is to make sure that Providence is aware of the needs of the community and provides quality health care to those they serve.”
“It’s been a great life and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he smiles.
Dan Keahey
Coldwell Banker Kline & Associates
815 W. Main
Centralia, WA
360-736-3389 ext. 118 (office)
360-269-8138 (cell)
dan@cbdan.com
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