Longtime Edmonds resident, retired physician and consummate community volunteer Dr. Rob Scarr was voted Edmonds Citizen of the Year earlier this week by the Edmonds Kiwanis Club selection committee.

“We had more than a dozen excellent nominations,” said Kiwanis member Juliana van Buskirk, who coordinates the annual honor.  “In the end it came down to Rob’s steady, consistent efforts to help make and keep Edmonds the great place it is through his volunteering and array of other community service.”

Started by the Kiwanis Club in 1994, the Citizen of Year program has honored numerous people and organizations over the years. The inaugural award went to Stan and Valerie Dickison with other winners including city officials like Dave Earling (1995) and Laura Hall (1996), business owners like Rick Steves (2017) and organizations like the Edmonds Floretum Garden Club (2015) and the Edmonds Petanque Club (2016). Last year’s winner was Fallen Heroes artist Michael Reagan.

Rob Scarr pitches in with the Edmonds Waterfront Center, the Edmonds Food Bank, and the Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA). On a given day you’ll find him teaching technology to seniors at the Waterfront Center in the morning, walking them through how to use their computers and smart phones to stay in touch with loved ones. The next morning he’ll head to the Edmonds Food Bank, where he helps with stocking, and administrative tasks. After stopping home for a quick dinner, he’s off to the ECA, where he checks tickets and shows patrons to their seats.

Rob Scarr in his role as an Edmonds Center for the Arts volunteer.

He has also worked with the Alzheimer’s Association, where he facilitated a support group of health care workers who are also caregivers, meeting a need that many don’t know exists.

“Too often when a health care worker shows up in a support group for caregivers, they end up being the go-to person for medically related questions,” he explains. “But they are also caregivers, and being put in the role of a medical authority detracts from the value of the support group for them.  In my group, they can leave the fact that they work in health care at the door and participate fully as an Alzheimer’s caregiver.”

His experiences with the Edmonds Food Bank are a great example of his dedication and adaptability.

“When started with the food bank about three years ago I was doing mostly physical jobs,” he explains. “But after a few health setbacks these became difficult, so I pivoted over to things like sorting bread, and administrative tasks.”

He is particularly dedicated to his work with the Northwest Neighbors Network, whose mission is helping folks stay in their homes as they age and/or become less able to live independently.

And somehow he also finds time to sing with the Sno-King Chorale, which he’s been doing since 2013. Part of this was accompanying the group (led by founder Frank DeMiero at the time) to perform in Europe in 2014, which was the “experience of a lifetime,” Scarr said.

“Volunteering expands my world,” Scarr explained. “It’s a fantastic way to get to know my community and the people in it.  I’ve met lots of people – many of whom have become good friends – through my volunteering. I love it.”

Plans are in the works for an event to formally recognize and honor Scarr as Citizen of Year. According to Van Buskirk, details will be forthcoming.

— By Larry Vogel