A lifetime of giving

Giving back to a community one loves is a common theme in retirement, and Dr. Jerry Katzer is no exception. However, Katzer took care of Creston long before his retirement.

From decades as a community staple in his veterinary office to leading organizations and donating time, Katzer has worked hard to be a positive presence in a town that means so much to him.

Katzer was nominated and awarded the Creston Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year Award because of all of this and more. He will be honored at the Chamber of Commerce annual meeting 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Eagles.

The working years

Though a proud community member, Katzer didn’t get his start in Creston. Born and raised in Garnett, Kansas, Katzer graduated from high school in 1965. Growing up around livestock, he knew animals were in his future.

“I just grew up on a cow/calf operation in Kansas, livestock, always just had an interest in animals in general, but cow/calf in particular,” Katzer said. “I just always had the desire to be in the livestock industry and in the veterinary medicine area specifically.”

After four straight years of FFA in high school, Katzer went on to get a degree in animal science at Kansas State University, eventually upgrading to a degree in veterinary medicine. His first few years in the field took place in Hiawatha, Kansas. However, after five years, Katzer said he wanted a change.

“I was looking for an opportunity to buy into a practice and a fellow named Dr. Jack Stream was here in town,” Katzer said. “I interviewed with him and sounded like it was going to work out, so I came up. Within a year, we had an agreement that I would work as a partner with him in the practice, Creston Veterinary Clinic.”

Joining the practice in 1978, Katzer served the Creston community for 35 years. Though starting out with the larger livestock, he eventually saw animals big and small.

“When I initially started, it was predominantly large animal practice, and as time went along, it balanced itself out very much into a mixed and small animal practice,” Katzer said. “I enjoyed a lot of the day-to-day with people, clients.”

Though once a business competitor, Dr. Roger Turk talks fondly of Katzer, even nominating him for the award.

“He was a good veterinarian. I think one of Jerry’s attributes is he remembered everybody’s name and their wife’s name and their kid’s name. He was a lot better in that respect than I ever was,” Turk said. “He was a competitor in our practices, but he’s become a good friend.”

As a veterinarian, Katzer was also a member of the state veterinary medicine board, something he said he thoroughly enjoyed.

“Just doing things to keep your profession going, being involved with that is something that I did that for years. I enjoyed that,” Katzer said. “You get to meet a lot of people across the state as well.”

Katzer retired and sold his practice in 2013. While he loved his work, he jokes in his class reunion biography that he now sleeps better and doesn’t get stressed out when the phone rings at night.

Active in the community

Though Katzer might have been done working as a veterinarian, he certainly wasn’t done working to better Creston.

“Really, everything changed when I retired and I wanted to pay back… Creston’s been really good to myself and my family, and it’s just an opportunity for us to kind of give back for everything that’s happened,” Katzer said. “There’s so many good opportunities to help out and do something.”

Katzer and his wife Ronda are active members at Holy Spirit Church. He said his membership on boards with the church progressed through the years.

“I went through the volunteering system with the church council and then St. Malachy’s school board there, and then the Knights of Columbus, the men’s group there. We have events and breakfasts and fish fries during Lent, things like that,” Katzer said.

Also through the church, Katzer volunteers at the thrift store The Rectory Rerun. Though he can’t remember exactly when he started, Katzer said he’s been helping out for about 10 years.

“It was in the old rectory in the church when I started, so it’s been a while,” Katzer said. “I became more a regular when they moved. On Monday we receive product from the public, and then Wednesday we process and sort things out.”

Outside of the church, Katzer is a recent volunteer at Greater Regional Health, giving directions to patients as they enter the building.

“You walk in there and there’s always somebody to kind of help you out, and it looked like a place I could probably handle,” Katzer said. Working with the hospital was especially important after a recent medical scare in the family.

“The hospital is really a big area for Creston,” Katzer said. “I’m so grateful that they’re able to do what they’ve been able to accomplish and so grateful after everything my wife has been through with cancer treatments. It’s just a big asset to not have to travel when they have that kind of expertise locally.”

Denny Abel also volunteers at the hospital and describes Katzer as a helpful person.

“He’s just a good guy. You need something, you call Jerry. He’ll come and help you,” Abel said. “He’s a Kansas State alum and supporter, so we get to bickering back and forth every once in a while.”

Turk agreed about Katzer’s character, calling him “a good fella.”

Along with everything else, Katzer is a proud member of the Creston Lions Club, serving as their president. He got involved in the group for a variety of reasons.

“The events the Lions Club is involved in I think is a real asset, so that’s one of the things that really struck it up,” Katzer said. “And then also, my father-in-law was a Lions Club member up in Fontanelle, so between those two things, I decided to join the Lions Club. It’s just a nice, local thing that adds a lot of value.”

Importance of community

Throughout his time in Creston, Katzer has had the chance to get to know all kinds of people.

“It’s nice to see everyone working well. You get a lot of groups working in sync with each other and supporting each other,” Katzer said. “It makes you appreciate some of the people that you get to know, how hard they work and keep things going and keeping Creston an active community.”

Katzer also said the size of Creston has been a perfect balance between big enough to have events every week, but small enough to know everyone. “The size and the people get along well. It’s been a nice, balanced community,” he said.

As young people leave school and start joining the greater community, Katzer suggests they do what they can to connect with their neighbors.

“I think it’s important for everybody to support each other and to find an area that you think you can contribute to,” Katzer said. “Help support the community and activities that go on, help everybody be upbeat and all the positives that are going on in our community.”