Compiled by Rhea-Frances Tetley
This week we present the names and bios of the rest of the community members who have been nominated by local residents for Citizen of the Year.
The board of directors of the Crestline Chamber of Commerce will choose the Crestline Vibes 2025 Citizen of the Year, who will have the honor of riding in the Jamboree Days parade.
Bonnie Cole
Bonnie is the friendly face at the Seventh Day Adventist Church who has been leading the community food bank project this last year. She has been volunteering and leading the Crestline SDA church’s project every Sunday, organizing and distributing the food to the residents of the Crestline community. The church gives the food with no strings attached; they do not judge or ask questions about financial status to be able to receive any of the fresh food. This system had resulted in a good community feel to the project which is greatly appreciated by the recipients.
Russ Keller
Russ, 84, has earned the honor of being nominated as Citizen of the Year for his decades of being a community volunteer, from picking up trash weekly for years along Lake Drive and elsewhere and caring for gardens at the Switzerland Monuments, to his years of presenting free community lectures on local history. He also gave many years as a short-term foster parent. He has written or contributed to nine books on local history and one on Mohammad Ali. He talks to everyone he meets about our wonderful town, and supports his church in his deeds, conversations and. He suggested the theme for Jamboree Days in 2019 – “Crestline-The Swingingest Town in America” – and was chosen as the grand marshal of the parade that year; he then wrote a book with that title.
Fred Keville
Fred worked with the Crestline-Lake Gregory Rotary Club to put on the community Thanksgiving dinner, serving as the chef the past two years. Fred is dedicated to the success of the community and enjoys using his organizational and cooking skills for the welfare of our seniors, for whom he cooks twice a week during the senior luncheons, and for other groups such as Connect Crestline and the Lions Club’s bingo nights.
Rosemarie Labadie
Rosemarie has helped finance and has coordinated the backpack giveaway for over 20 years for all Rim students on the Saturday before school begins each year. She has encouraged other nonprofits to donate paper and pencils and necessary school materials. That day, she also has also coordinated a school clothes swap and trade. For decades she has been involved in moving the community forward, initially by co-running the Alpenhorn newspaper for 18 years; she supported the writing of two books on Crestline history, including Crestline Chronicles. She was elected to the original Crestline Sanitation District board of directors when it was formed.
Mary-Justine Lanyon
Mary-Justine is the editor of the Alpine Mountaineer newspaper, managing the staff of freelance writers who, under her direction put out an excellent publication week after week, keeping the community informed of the facts from community meetings, events and occurrences. Mary-Justine is vice president of the Rim of the World Educational Foundation, is the past president of the Crestline-Lake Gregory Rotary Club and supports numerous other nonprofits on the mountain. She spreads Crestline Vibes for all to read today and documents what has occurred for the future.
Bill Mellinger
Bill is the hardest working man in Crestline – as a trustee for the Rim of the World Unified School District and as head of the county-appointed Lake Gregory Community Advisory Commission. He has led the free Crestline community Thanksgiving dinner as a Rotarian and has been the emcee for the Rotary Community Recognition Dinner and the Veterans Day and Memorial Day Services at the San Moritz Lodge. He is one of the founding forces behind the Early Act Club at Valley of Enchantment Elementary School, which fosters service-minded leadership and community involvement among the students. He is chaplain of the fire district and is pastor for the Crestline Baptist Church. He manages Higher Grounds Coffee House, from which he has announced the Jamboree Days parade, on his own, for over a decade.
Allen Mairs
Allen has adopted the persona of Santa Claus and goes out of his way to make children smile. He has personally purchased an extremely high-quality Santa outfit to fulfill the expectations of the children he comes in contact with. His real whiskers that he grew for this purpose add to the illusion. He has been a community volunteer for years, including getting stuck in quicksand while cleaning up around Lake Gregory’s shore when the lake level was 10 feet lower. This has not discouraged him from being a real community volunteer for cleanup, events and more. He supports fundraisers of many nonprofit groups and attends their events and donates to their projects. He is running for Grand Poobah to help raise funds for the Jamboree Days fireworks fund.
Douglas W. Motley
As a 49-year resident of Crestline, Douglas is known as Uncle Mott through his weekly newspaper column, Mountain Musings, that he writes using music and comedy to make a point commenting on life and the community and highlighting the great things about town. As an investigative reporter since 2003, for the Alpenhorn News and now the Alpine Mountaineer, he has reported on many major issues facing the mountain communities. He has been involved since 1986 with the Rim of the World Historical Society and, through the Mountain History Museum, he’s volunteered to edit four books and proofed over 20 years of historical newspaper columns and the descriptions in the museum. Raising his sons on the mountain, he was active in Little League and hiking with Boy Scouting, while his sons were active, through Eagle Scouting. He has used his radio experience as he’s volunteered as an announcer for the Jamboree Days parade for numerous years. Last year he was first runner-up in the Grand Poobah contest, raising many hundreds of dollars for the Jamboree Days fireworks fund.
Teri Ostlie
Teri is the immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Lake Arrowhead and is its current Community Services chair, making a significant impact on the mountain communities. Through the “little blessings program” she initiated, club funds are used to make gift boxes with cash, socks, gloves, warm hats and more for homeless students. Little blessings also supports the Mountain Pregnancy Center and Blue Star Moms. She honors veterans through creating quilts for the Quilts of Valor program. She volunteers with the Rebuilding Together program, serving breakfast and lunch to the volunteers repairing the homes. She helps at the health fair and teaches children about gardening. She is a model of spirit and service and contributes greatly to the community.
Michelle Shelly Peachie
Michelle always steps up to help anyone in need and is willing to go above and beyond to help others. She fed people during Covid, helped people who needed things and always volunteers for numerous and various groups to support the community. Read the many Facebook posts about the many activities in which she has been involved. She does this without fanfare and never seeks publicity for her actions. She is a shining example of a good community volunteer.
Dirk Rinker
Through his individual efforts and his ability to motivate and organize others, Dirk has made Jamboree Days a real success these past four years. Through his organizational skills, he has made it into a positive community asset again. He works into the late hours tirelessly for months and, as of yet, hasn’t gotten the recognition he deserves for all his efforts and knowledge. It is high time for the community to acknowledge that he is the true unsung hero of Jamboree Days. Dirk is also bringing the town more recognition through his media outreach to TV and radio, which is promoting tourism for the entire town.
Nathan Robinson
During Snowmageddon, Nathan helped those stuck in their homes by bringing them food, delivering meds, diapers and other essentials, purchasing those supplies with his own money. He is an honest mechanic with fair prices. At Corks & Hops he was a hero when, while passing by, he spotted a car fire that had broken out; he jumped out of his truck, got his fire extinguisher and assisted in getting the fire out before the fire department arrived. He also helped them holding open the hot metal hood with his hand while firefighters sprayed it with water. He is a great attribute to this mountain community.
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