Jessens surprised by “Citizens of the Year” honor

When the Yuma Sun announced that Jon and Caroline “Liney” Jessen were the 2010 Citizens of the Year — a tightly held secret until Jan. 1 — their friends and family tried to share the unexpected news with them.

But the longtime Yuma couple spent New Year’s Day with some of their children and grandchildren on a skiing trip in Dolores, Colo., out of reach and with no cell-phone service.

Finally, Liney’s niece Lekki Smith reached them via a landline Saturday night.

“I was very surprised. I had no idea. I thought a lot of people should have been considered before I was,” Liney told the Yuma Sun.

But plenty of community members were not surprised.

“Over the years the Jessens have given unselfishly of their time and resources to benefit the education of young people in our community,” said Helen Coffeen, Centennial Middle School principal and the person who nominated the couple.

Jon, 77, and Liney, 75, are founders of The Gowan Company, a Yuma-based, family-owned crop protection company. They employ and pay benefits for close to 400 employees in the Yuma area.

Coffeen listed many reasons why the Jessens should be honored with this award (see the story at http://www.yumasun.com/articles/yuma-66510-coffeen-jon.html).

Jon said he believes that giving and volunteering “in areas that need a boost” is a “social responsibility.” He prefers to help local causes.

“I think a lot of people contribute to national charities, but I like to give to the local efforts.There’s more chance of reaching the street and we can see if it reaches the street. Plus, it’s fun to see the results,” he said, smiling.

Liney believes giving and volunteering “fosters a community spirit.”

Jon’s priority is improving education, “preparing young people for tomorrow.

“We’re depending on them to lead and pay taxes 20 years from now, and some are not properly prepared for college,” he said.

One of their favorite projects is the Gowan Achievement Project (GAP), which gives Crane District students “an academic opportunity to focus their time and energy on science and math achievement through reading and writing to prepare them for college,” Coffeen explained.

“They also honor master teachers with incentives to teach in the program,” she said.

“It’s making a big improvement at one of the poorest schools in the county. We like to go to the classrooms and see the wonderful instruction going on,” Jon said.

“Some really great teachers are handling that program. It’s fun to see kids so responsive, so eager. Every time you develop such a response in kids, it’s worthwhile,” Liney said.

Over the past four years, the Jessens have given more than $500,000 to establish the program.

As for Liney, “I have always have felt the (Yuma) Art Center is important.”

The Jessens are great supporters of local artists, with the Caroline Lott Jessen Trust’s being a large donor to the Yuma Fine Arts Association. They have also opened their home to artists for exhibits and arts-related events.

But the Jessens are adamant that the entire community and the whole Gowan team should share the honor with them.

“I want to thank the community for what they did because we didn’t do this alone. We’ve had a lot of community support,” Liney said.

“Everything we’ve done has required more resources than what we have. We thank the people of Gowan. There’s a big team of people behind us, hundreds of them,” Jon said.
This “team” is responsible for “gathering the resources” that allows them to be generous and support local causes, Jon added.

They continue to be fully involved in The Gowan Company, with no immediate plans for retirement. However, they enjoy traveling occasionally, especially Jon, Liney said, laughing.
Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or 539-6856.