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| Sunday, December 27, 2020
‘I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT SHE HAS DONE’ By Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune
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Debbie Saxbury sets the tone for kindness with her volunteer efforts in Central Point
entral Point native Debbie Saxbury has spent a lifetime serving as the example of community advocacy. Those closest to her rattle off lists of ways Saxbury has impacted the town she has loved for as long as she can remember. Pulling off project after project and countless 11th-hour solutions, Saxbury has a knack for helping and unifying those around her. Hew McElroy, who runs Crater Café with his wife and co-owns the Point Pub and Grill, called Saxbury “the embodiment of the spirit of Central Point.” In addition to sponsoring “cash mobs” to keep small businesses afloat, Saxbury helped initiate a gift card program that funded nearly $20,000 in meals to help families — and businesses — impacted by the pandemic. That is in addition to “her amazing civic contributions to the community, including the Blue Light project (for local police),
coordinating holiday events and overseeing projects to help the less fortunate among us,” McElroy said. “Debbie has been instrumental in the survival of Central Point small business. She is a rock star!” A longtime city parks advocate, she worked for decades in various capacities to promote historic preservation, holiday events and park projects, including the city’s first fireworks show over a quarter century ago and a Fourth of July car cruise to help residents enjoy a socially distanced Independence Day. The daughter of the late Central Point mayor William Saxbury, the 64-year-old cut her teeth on good deeds. She watched years ago as her parents, who ran downtown clothing and furniture stores, offered everything from advice or a helping hand to cash loans for high-schoolers to attend the weekend dance. When a community member’s home burned down, her father delivered free bunk beds for the family’s children.
ANDY ATKINSON / MAIL TRIBUNE
Debbie Saxbury, shown in downtown Central Point, has worked for decades in various ways to promote historic preservation, holiday events and park projects.
