LA GRANDE — An often overlooked story in the celebrated life of a former publisher of The Observer is coming to light.

Bob Moody, who died at Grande Ronde Hospital on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, at age 90, was posthumously recognized for his nearly 50 years of service to the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, an organization that supports employers who have people working for them who serve in the National Guard.

Members of Moody’s family were presented with ESGR’s Twice the Citizens Award on Jan. 26 at the American Legion Hall, La Grande. Moody was chosen for the award by the national ESGR organization, a Department of Defense agency.

Moody’s daughter, Barb, and son, Ken, received the award on behalf of their father. Barb Moody said the award would have meant a great deal to her dad, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1950-1954.

“He would have been very touched,” she said.

The award was presented by Jack Johnson, of Cove, chair of Area Six of the Oregon Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

The award derives its name from an expression made famous by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II. Churchill described Britain’s military reservists as “twice the citizens,” Johnson said.

The ESGR was established in 1972 as an agency of the Department of Defense to relieve employment issues between employers and those serving in the military as reservists.

Moody joined the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve shortly after it was created. Johnson said Moody holds the record for the longest tenure of service with the support organization in Oregon and possibly the United States.

Johnson said Moody made a positive impact as a member of the ESGR because of his uncommon power of persuasion.

“Someone said that Bob could coax you out of your boots, if you were standing in a foot of snow, and it was 40 degrees below zero,” he said.

Those who Moody influenced on behalf of the ESGR included his good friend Les Schwab, the founder of Les Schwab Tires.

Years ago, Schwab was paying employees who worked on Saturdays time and a half. This created a problem because a number of his employees were in the National Guard and they could not afford to participate in weekend National Guard exercises because it meant they would miss the time and a half pay Schwab was providing.

Many National Guardsmen at Les Schwab were missing weekend drills as a result.

“National Guard commanders were upset,” Johnson said.

The National Guard called on Moody to bring his powers of persuasion to the fore by arranging a meeting with Schwab. The National Guard arranged for a helicopter to pick up Moody in La Grande and fly him to Prineville, where Schwab lived, so the two could have dinner, Johnson said. Moody then persuaded Schwab to pay his employees in the National Guard the difference between what the National Guard paid them for participating in Saturday drills and the money they would have gotten if they had been on the job.

“There are other stories about Bob, but this one highlights what he did for ESGR and our reserve personnel,” Johnson said.

Moody and his wife, Bev, moved to La Grande in 1974 from Redmond where he had been the publisher of the Redmond Spokesman. Bev, who died in early December 2022, was also a strong supporter of the ESGR, Johnson said.

Ken Moody said his dad did not talk a lot about his volunteer work with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

“He did well at it,” he said, “but kept quiet about it, which was his nature.”