Meeting community needs

This is the second in a three-part series about the Creston Chamber of Commerce awards.

The roots of the Travis family tree are anchored in Creston as the seventh generation are the newest to join the ensemble. Jamie Travis, a fifth-generation Creston resident, dedicates his time to building up the community for those to come.

This effort earned him the 2025 Creston Citizen of the Year award. He will be honored at the Chamber of Commerce annual meeting 6 p.m. tonight at the Eagles, along with Youth of the Year Dylan Dornack and Volunteer of the Year Trevor Paulus.

Craig Mittag is the one who informs the award winners, and he said no one has ever been as surprised as Travis.

“I was just blown away when they chose me,” Travis said. “That was very kind of them. It was not on my radar at all.”

Despite this, Mittag said this award is fitting for Travis. “A lot of times, it’s an older person, and you look back at the things they’ve done throughout their life,” he said. “I think Jamie is a prime example of someone who is younger and not only helping with fundraisers and non-profit organizations, he’s also had his hand in a number of businesses in town, not only helping the citizens, but in turn helping the community economically by getting new businesses going. Jamie is a prime example of what a citizen of the year should be.”

Volunteer work

One of the ways Travis gives back is through serving in Kiwanis. He began in 2002 after Ruth Bolinger suggested he get involved in a service organization.

“Jamie is the person who, as far as I can remember, has been in charge of the Keep a Kid Warm coat drive that we have every year, along with Drew Henderson,” Mittag said. “That is one of our big projects we do every year. We’ll hand out close to 100 coats every year to kids in the community who need a winter coat.”

Travis said he took over the responsibility close to 20 years ago.

“Back then at the time, we were getting people to drop off used coats. We’d have to take them to the laundromat and wash them all, and have people help us stitch them up and stuff,” Travis said. “What we were seeing back then is we’d get a few coats in and do a whole bunch of work and people would be like oh, it’s a used coat. We decided to start raising funds to buy new coats. We’ve done that for several years now.”

The Kiwanis mission is to empower communities to improve the world by making lasting differences in the lives of children. The club is a part of a number of projects and fundraising efforts throughout the year, but Travis said seeing kids wear the coats is probably the most fun.

“Sometimes you don’t really see the fruit of your effort, and it’s encouraging to see something,” he said. “Our mission is to help kids. It’s fun to see that actually happen. It’s very rewarding for us that are part of it, for sure.”

Travis joked his family is often known as “the horse family.” From riding and showing at the county fair to cowboy mounted shooting and the iconic convoy of horses at the end of the Fourth of July parade, the duo of a Travis and a horse is well known.

It’s only natural the Travises are a big part of the Union County Fair.

“The county fair has a lot of sentimental value for people,” Travis said. “I turn 50 this year, and I was over there 40 years ago. To think of what it was then and the people who put in the work and effort to make it what it is today, it’s pretty neat. And to think about my grandkids getting to enjoy the same things.”

In 2018, Chad Rieck and Ben Adamson recruited Travis to be a part of the fair board. He began the following year as treasurer.

“For the fair, he’s been unbelievable,” Rieck said. “We wouldn’t be able to do the things we do without him. From the initial early years of keeping the finances straight, and he’s always been a big part of the fundraising effort.”

People who enjoy the Union County Fair may not understand the effort that goes on behind the scenes.

“The month of the fair, it’s a lot,” Rieck said of the time commitment. “It becomes 24/7 for quite a bit. For Jamie, he’ll spend what seems like days hauling his personal equipment over there, whether it be a tractor or a loader. For years, he brought an extra golf cart he let Dannie Stephens ride around on. Then there was an extra Gator that Bob Crawford got to use. He would always bring extra stuff to make sure everyone was taken care of.”

As a member of several boards, Travis has tried to take a step back in recent years, but a new expansion project involving the horse arena has him hooked for at least a few more years.

For Travis, giving back is more of a benefit for him than for those he is serving.

“You get to meet new people, you get to talk to people, you get to extend relationships. Serving to help others is very rewarding.

“As I got to thinking about this tremendous honor, Citizen of the Year, I didn’t do it by any means for that reason,” he said. “It was really more selfish; if you’re just involved in making money every day, that gets old. Nose to the grindstone every single day. It’s relaxing to go serve pork chops, hand out coats. I think I handled like 900 pork chops this year, and I loved it.”

Business man

Travis thought he would only farm his whole life. But when farming got hard, he turned to the insurance industry for additional possibilities.

“I could see it growing,” he said. “The opportunity to buy this building came up, and there are other opportunities that have popped up throughout Creston. It’s never really been a goal to have these businesses, but if it makes sense and it benefits people around me, I’m all in.”

Travis owns Hometown Insurance on Taylor Street in Creston and Champion Fitness on Highway 34. His children are also involved in a number of businesses around the area.

Champion Fitness became a reality when CrossFit TYL closed.

“There was a group of us that wanted to keep those classes,” Rieck explained. “[Travis] came to me and said I need a space, what do you got? This was right after we opened Champion steaks. I said, I’ve got this large room you can look at. He comes out and looked at it and said yep, this works.”

Though it is a business, Rieck said Travis sees it more as filling a need for his people.

“He does that again for family and friends for the most part. I know there are other people that do work out there, but it’s not something he’s out there pushing,” Rieck said. “That’s what he does for the community, always giving when things need done.”

Get involved

From his involvement with the Crest Baptist Church to participating in the annual service club BBQ Bash, Travis has found a way to stay connected to the heart of the community.

Though many young people move away after graduation, the Travis family has been a staple in Creston for generations. Travis said it’s the people who keep them here.

“I just love it here,” he said. “I hear negative things now and then, and there are going to be negative things in every community. The people of this community, whenever there is a need to be met, they just step up and take care of it.”

For those looking to get involved, there are a variety of ways to start.

“There are lots of opportunities if you’re open to it,” Travis said. “You say to yourself, well I don’t know these people. You’re not going to get to know them if you don’t just get out of your comfort zone to take that first step to join something good going on.”

There’s a mindset Travis uses to get the most out of his involvement. Instead of looking for what he can get out of it, he looks for how he can plug in and be of use.

“He isn’t just in business to make a buck,” Mittag said. “He’s concerned about the betterment of the community and the community members. He doesn’t do it for the recognition. He does it for the community.”