William C. Eggers Jr.

Bill Eggers, 77, of Overland Park, KS, a 37-year Johnson County resident, passed away March 6, 2011 at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. Memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 19, at Westside Family Church, 8500 Woodsonia Dr., Lenexa, KS. A light reception will follow the services at the church. Private entombment in Mt. Moriah Cemetery South, Faith Mausoleum, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Kansas City Hospice, 9221 Ward Parkway, Suite 100, Kansas City, MO 64114. Although his career was cosmopolitan, Bill Eggers was a Midwestern guy to the core. An only child, he was born July 6, 1933 in Sioux Falls, SD, son of William C., Sr. and Rosamond (Kavaney). He then lived in Fort Dodge and Des Moines, IA. He was a 1952 graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School, Des Moines, IA and received a BA degree upon graduation in 1957 from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. He also studied at St. Ambrose College in Davenport, IA. A Naval Reservist, Bill was drafted during the Korean War and served as a Corpsman, stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station and then St. Alban’s Hospital on Long Island. That’s where urban life got into his blood. He took full advantage of being in the big city, making good friends, seeing Broadway shows and theatre. He also attended the Metropolitan Opera and symphonies at Carnegie Hall. In 1956 Bill married Joan Dalbey in Des Moines, IA. He worked in sales and management in the cosmetic and moving industry, until his retirement. Bill volunteered for many organizations. He served on the board of the Johnson County Community College Brown & Gold Club, of which he found very rewarding. He also worked with the Johnson County Commission on Aging, going to Topeka where he advocated for senior issues. He was a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church. He was preceded in death by his parents. Bill is survived by his children Michael A. Eggers and wife Sandra, Deborah J. Miles, Susanne R. Stockman and husband Mark and Steven D. Eggers and wife Paula; mother of his children Joan Eggers; and nine grandchildren Benjamin Eggers, Michelle Eggers, Lawrence Reilly, Alexander Reilly, Jessica Miles, James Miles, Andrew Eggers, Sean Eggers and Ryan Eggers. Bill always said, “My children and grandchildren are wonderful, they are a gift and a blessing that makes me so proud and thankful.” Condolences may be made at www.mtmoriah-freeman.com. Arrangements under the direction of Mount Moriah & Freeman Funeral Home, Kansas City, MO.

Article Printed in "The Best Times" October 2007

Bill Eggers

Lighting the volunteer path

By Lynn Anderson

The cover of The Best Times has featured many Johnson County residents known and honored for their generous contributions to the community. In most of those stories, we focused on their particular areas of passion: fighting child-bullying, patronizing the arts, making peace ecumenically, improving our schools.

In Bill Eggers’ portrait, we’re focusing on the act of volunteering itself. What draws someone to give time and talent without financial reward? How does a potential volunteer get going? What are the risks and rewards?

Eggers, 73, is a 37-year Johnson County resident. Because he has a volunteer portfolio that just won’t quit, he seemed like an ideal person with whom to explore those and other questions. We hope you’ll learn from him, and maybe be motivated to venture onto your own volunteer path.

A quiet heartland start

Although his career was cosmopolitan, Bill Eggers is a Midwestern guy to the core. An only child, he was born in Sioux Falls, S.D., then lived in Fort Dodge and Des Moines, Iowa. He studied for a time at St. Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa, and then the service called.

A Naval Reservist, he was drafted during the Korean War and served as a Corpsman, stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station and then St. Alban’s Hospital on Long Island. That’s where urban life got into his blood.

“I took full advantage of being in the big city,” Eggers said. “I made good friends, saw Broadway shows and theater, attended the Metropolitan Opera and symphonies at Carnegie Hall. To experience such beautiful music and visit New York City’s numerous museums—what an education and exposure to the arts! It left a remarkable impact on me that lasts to this day.”

After two years in the east, he returned to St. Ambrose and later earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Iowa. Married by then and starting a family, he settled in Iowa City, Iowa, living in barracks rented for $60 a month. Soon, though, the city called again.

“I went to New York for an interview with the J.C. Penney company,” Eggers said. “They liked me and I had the right abilities to produce. From my background, I had developed the habits of being at work early, knowing the value of money, and a strong work ethic, all of which aided me in moving forward in my career and phases of business. But we were dirt poor and my folks needed us, so I did go to work for Penney’s—but we stayed in the Iowa nest, working in Des Moines as an executive (big title, low pay). I had the privilege of sitting next to J.C. Penney at a luncheon. He was then 93, in Des Moines while on a cross-country tour.”

Over the ensuing decades, Eggers flourished in sales and management with some big-name companies: Famous-Barr, Revlon, Germaine Monteil, Vidal Sassoon, Pierre Wulff, and Bekins and United Van Lines. For those companies he traveled the country and the world, meeting with executives in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Paris.

“I somehow was often in the right place at the right time, and many opportunities opened themselves to me,” Eggers said of his eclectic business life.

Eventually he and his family moved to Kansas City, where Eggers was senior vice president for marketing and sales with Michaud Associates, calling on airline clients such as TWA.

“It was a large account, and what an experience—upscale hotels and five-star resorts,” Eggers said. “Las Vegas was a big source of sales, and thank God I did not gamble, as I had too much to do and no money to waste. These were huge industries; what a business awakening!”

Although he was still working at full speed, this is where the foundation for Eggers’ volunteerism was laid.

“I wasn’t known in Kansas City,” he said, “so I needed to network. I had to make connections, and eventually some of those folks led me into giving of my time.”

He was a passionate volunteer through the 1980s, then had to slow down for a decade because of the demands of his work. After he retired, he said, “I basically made volunteering my career.”

The values that sustain this volunteer

Q: What do you consider to be the most important values and commitments in your life?

A: My religious faith and my family. I have a strong desire to make things better, and a real concern and caring for others. This is the time in my life to give back for all my blessings. We are our brother’s keeper to a degree, and should help where we can.

I am a nonviolent person, and that shows in my volunteering. Circumstances can always be changed, but this takes time, understanding, and commitment. I oppose any war, but also believe we must do our duty to God and country. Violence in the world tears me apart. We’re not the “America the beautiful” we were earlier in my lifetime. Even here in the Kansas City area, we don’t always learn from our mistakes.

I was a “cradle Catholic,” but my faith is increasingly a very personal thing. It manifests itself in things like working for 10 years at a soup kitchen with street people, many of whom I got to know. What an awakening! That left me thinking how lucky I am, because there but for the grace of God go I. If I thought I had problems before I left for the day, I soon felt that whatever “problems” I had were minor.

An Eggers primer on volunteering

Q: So, why do you volunteer?

A: It’s the enjoyment of working with and knowing people of all backgrounds. That will broaden your scope of reference—and I’d rather not be set in my ways. Volunteering helps me make sure that doesn’t happen!

I enjoy working with people, being involved, and hopefully making things better and improving specific situations. I want to make a difference. I like to think of myself as a determined, disciplined professional who applies persistence and resourcefulness in realizing objectives.

Q: Is volunteering for everyone? Can shy persons do it, or do you have to be an extrovert?

A: Yes, of course it’s for everyone! But not everyone is naturally good at everything or cut out for every kind of volunteering.

For example, I’ve volunteered happily with hospice—but very few could do that. When you’re sitting with hospice patients, you don’t know whether they will still be living in two months or even two weeks, and that can be hard emotionally. You learn to be a bridge between patients and their families. It can be a quite difficult and trying time, with everyone’s emotions on high. However, with good training and preparation, it will work. And, I might add, you, too, will grow and change.

It’s also important to recognize that you need to be trained and guided about the work you’re volunteering to do. You need to understand the organization you work with, be familiar with its mission, understand what needs to be done, and listen closely to the organization’s officers and staff. I made some mistakes, going into volunteer projects with my own agenda. For instance, I went into mental health volunteerism thinking I could change people. Finally, after much trial and error, I learned to be with the clients as they were. Then it worked well.

Q: Why do people become volunteers, or why should they?

A: There are many reasons. Lots of people volunteer because they see a need. Others do it because they meet wonderful people through volunteerism. Or they volunteer in the aging field because they want to learn about seniors and their issues. Most importantly, as seniors, we are among the people we’re helping! And in working with other seniors for change and improvement, all our life experiences come into play.

Other volunteers find that after retirement, when they have cut themselves away from work, they get bored and need a way to stay active. They fear becoming reclusive. Regular, scheduled volunteering gives you a reason to get up in the morning and make yourself presentable. Don’t underestimate the need for that! To believe in what you can accomplish is very rewarding.

Q: How does a prospective volunteer decide what would be a good fit?

A: For me, the answer was to participate in Senior Leadership of Johnson County, a six-week educational and networking experience that nurtures and supports volunteerism. I signed up for its fall classes because I didn’t know people and they didn’t know me. Without Senior Leadership, you’re making those inroads on your own. The people I met in my Senior Leadership class remain good friends. I also recommend the Volunteer Center of Johnson County, which is a real hub for matching volunteers with needs. The Volunteer Center is especially good if what you want is hands-on, nitty-gritty volunteering.

However, based on your background, education, and experiences, you certainly could be eligible to serve in a higher capacity, such as being on boards of directors in the role of leadership, making a difference and being even more beneficial in what you can offer and accomplish. Trust me on this!

Whether you participate in Senior Leadership or not, you can get the best leads through networking. Tell people you are at a loss as to what you can and should do to make use of your talents.

Above all, never lose sight of who you are, what you care about, and what you want to accomplish. Your time and energy are precious; you don’t want to waste them—and rightfully so!

Q: How does a volunteer go about setting boundaries and saying no?

A: I’m a good example of not doing that soon enough! Once you become known as a willing volunteer, you’ll find people schmoozing you, and it can be hard to turn that down. I got very overextended. Projects I thought were meaningful turned out not to be. Eventually, I learned the need of being selective.

Q: What are the signs of volunteer burnout?

A: People often burn out when they work with an organization for quite some time, trying to do a great deal with few resources. Or they join a board and its members talk about money all the time but don’t move toward a plan of action. Money is always a problem, but there are ways of working things out. If its current efforts are not producing the desired results, then an organization might consider taking smaller, goal-oriented steps.

Volunteers also get resentful if too few people are willing to do the work that needs doing, or if people in an organization start arguing among themselves.

You can sense burnout, in yourself and others. I’m not a quitter, but if I begin to see that I’m not on same page as the organization in terms of what needs to be accomplished, I will leave.

Q: What if you love an organization you’re volunteering with, but some of your fellow volunteers make you crazy?

A: Oh, did that ever happen to me (with an organization that isn’t in Johnson County!). Some people had been with the organization forever, and they were set in their ways and bristly. I eventually thought, “I’m not contributing anything, this isn’t working for me, they’re better off without me.”

Q: How does someone who has been in the corporate world, drawing a nice salary, get used to the idea of working for free?

A: People who have made big money in their careers can be wonderful, effective volunteers with a lot of skill. They can contribute a lot because they’re really focused. But they need to realize that as a volunteer, things are different. As a volunteer, you have to lower your sights. By that I mean that you need a realistic sense of your personal contributions, and you don’t expect to run the whole show. Learn to listen! That’s good advice at any time.

Q: Can a person volunteer regardless of age and limitations?

A: There is no question about it! If a person grows older but is fortunate enough to stay healthy, she or he can do a lot. Some of these volunteers are the very best, and thoroughly dedicated. Do not underestimate their talents, and working with them creates a great environment. Many organizations can use the help of people who have some disability or limitation. Lynn, you told me about a gentleman who did indexing for The Best Times from his home because he couldn’t easily get out. That’s a great example.

On the other hand, if for any reason you aren’t able to stay active with an organization—whether as a member of its board or a stuffer of envelopes, it’s best not to stay. Giving up your spot is the best thing for the organization and for you. Find something you can do, regardless how small.

Q: What volunteer work are you most proud of?

A: The time I spent on the board of the Johnson County Community College Brown & Gold Club was very rewarding. Being on the campus with young people, staff, professors, and the large student population (close to 5,000) was a joy, with the open input of seniors and students. It was a wonderful atmosphere. I might add that the club’s accomplishments are an asset to the college!

And my work with the Johnson County Commission on Aging is exhilarating. Going to Topeka, advocating for senior issues, coming into contact personally with Senate and House members, is quite challenging!

Q: What do you say to organizations that want to entice volunteers?

A: Provide food! Older people love to eat!

Eggers has four children—Michael Eggers, of Lee’s Summit; Deborah Jo Waller, of Kansas City, Kan.; Susanne Stockman, of DeLand, Fla.; and Steven Eggers, of Shawnee—and nine grandchildren. “They are all wonderful,” he says, “a gift and blessing that makes me so proud and thankful.”

A case study in community support

Bill Eggers is a current member of the Johnson County Commission on Aging, the Johnson County Advisory Board for AARP, and the Senior Advocates Network, for which he does legislative lobbying.

Since moving to Johnson County 37 years ago, he has given his time and talent in a myriad of ways. In the political arena, he ran for a spot on the Johnson County Water District #1 board, coming in second out of four candidates. That was his last political foray.

The list of his other volunteer work is long, so we’ll abridge it here, with the purpose of providing some ideas to readers who might be new to the community or newly retired. Any of these would be jumping-off platforms for your entry into the waters of volunteering:

Shepherd’s Center ~ Johnson County Community College Brown & Gold Club ~ Senior Leadership of Johnson County ~ Johnson County Mental Health Association ~ Kauffman’s Coordinating Mental Health Council ~ Republican Party Precinct Committeeman ~ KCPT-TV 19 Community Advisory Board ~ Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) ~ Johnson County Park and Recreation District 50 Plus Program ~ Positive Lights ~ Nelson-Atkins Museum Friends of Art ~ Kansas City Hospice ~ Kansas City Community Kitchen ~ United Cerebral Palsy Telethon ~ Johnson County National Exchange Club ~ Kansas City Consensus ~ Lenexa and Overland Park Chambers of Commerce ~ Project Turnaround ~ Traffic and Transportation Club of Greater Kansas City ~ International Relations Council ~ Kansas City International Trade Club ~ Institute of Cultural Affairs ~ Projects with Industry ~ Employers’ Council ~ Eggs and Issues ~ Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral Community Kitchen

Senior Leadership of Johnson County Volunteer Center of Johnson County

913-341-5763; [email protected] 913-341-1792; [email protected]; www.vcjc.org