Peggy Savary and Knox Williams Named Carlsbad Citizens of the Year

Longtime volunteers Peggy Savary and Knox Williams have been named Carlsbad Citizens of the Year. 

The Citizen of the Year program is more than 40 years old and honors community members who have given their time and energy toward the civic improvement, beautification and betterment of the City of Carlsbad. This year’s honorees, selected by a committee of Carlsbad residents, were be recognized during a ceremony on July 23 at Carlsbad City Hall, just before the regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

Peggy Savary

Peggy Savary says that of all the places in the world she’s ever lived — and that’s a lot of places— the place she loves the most is Carlsbad.

When Savary and her husband, Don, arrived in Carlsbad in 1983 after living in Hawaii, Belgium, Nigeria and France, she was seeking a place to call home. “I was here straight from Europe and eager to get into community life,” Savary said. “I happily enjoyed the opportunities that Carlsbad offered me, every facet.”

Savary was trained as a nurse and while her husband managed the installation of a telephone system for the country of Nigeria, she served as medical director for ITT, the company installing the system. Although she’s retired now, Savary still volunteers at the Carlsbad Senior Center, taking people’s blood pressure on Tuesday mornings and talking to seniors about health and wellness.

Savary has dedicated countless hours to the City of Carlsbad. She served as a planning commissioner from 1991 to 1999; as a member of the design review board from 1991 to 2000; and as a member of the Community Development Block Grant advisory committee member on three occasions — 2002-03, 2006-07 and 2008-09.

But Savary is best known for her senior citizen advocacy. She served as president of the volunteer Carlsbad Senior Association, and her work was instrumental in the formation of the Carlsbad Senior Commission. She was appointed to the Senior Commission in 1988 and is a member to this day.

“After we moved to Carlsbad my dad was living with us — he was in his 90s — and I got to appreciate that he could visit the Senior Center and have camaraderie with people,” Savary said.

“He needed it,” she said. “That taught me the value of the organization and I’ve been loyal ever since. It’s helped me, as well.”

Savary’s many civic commitments have not kept her from her volunteering; she knits afghans for needy people, including wounded veterans. She has served as a volunteer caseworker for Hospice of the North Coast, as a board member for the Boys & Girls Club of Carlsbad, and as a board member for La Posada de Guadalupe homeless shelter.

“There’s no term for volunteers,” Savary said. “You can volunteer as long as you like.”

Savary and her husband have three children, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

“I appreciate the Carlsbad community and their caring and consideration,” Savary said. “The people of Carlsbad have been kind and loving and helpful. It’s been my favorite place in all the world, and I’ve been to many different places.”

Knox Williams

Knox Williams has reached more people than anyone can count. A former owner of Rayne Water Conditioning business in Vista, Williams posted pithy sayings every week on his store’s sign that overlooks state Route 78 in Vista.

“Streakers repent, your end is in sight,” one sign read at the height of the streaking fad. “All in favor of saving gas raise your right foot,” said another in the middle of the gas crisis.

Williams sold his business to his daughter and son-in-law several years ago, but he still contributes two sayings every week — one for eastbound travelers and one for westbound. Known as the “Rayneman” when he owned the business, and now the “Rayneman Emeritus,” Williams claims he invented the “tweet” — a digital 140-character message — before it was ever thought of, only his tweet was a low-tech version composed of 42 plastic characters mounted on a board.

Williams and his family moved to Carlsbad when he bought the Rayne Water franchise in 1961, and they have lived here since. And his life is not just about witty sayings, but is a lesson in community service.

Williams has been involved in numerous charitable and civic causes in Carlsbad and North County. The list of organizations he served to is long and includes the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA in Encinitas in the 1960s; the Joe and Mary Mottino Family YMCA in Oceanside for 22 years; the Rotary Club of El Camino Real in Oceanside, including a term as president from 1989-90; and the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, which honored Williams with a Lifetime In Business Award in 2011. In April the Water Quality Association presented Knox with its highest honor, induction into its Hall of Fame.

Williams and his wife, June, have twin daughters. Their son, who was developmentally disabled, died in 1999. For 22 years Williams served as director and president at St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center, a school for people with developmental disabilities, and the Williams family has established a charitable gift annuity to provide scholarships for disabled students at MiraCosta College. Williams also serves on the boards of Noah’s Ark Angel Foundation and the MiraCosta College Foundation.

One of Williams’ greatest contributions is as a cofounder of the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation in 2007. The foundation, an affiliate of the San Diego Foundation, has raised more than $500,000 for the benefit of Carlsbad charitable causes. The Williams family also is a “legacy donor,” to help assure the foundation’s future success.

Williams has been a successful businessman, but his success is the result of hard work. When he was a youngster, the Great Depression and Dust Bowl forced his family to leave their home in Oklahoma and join a mass migration of Midwesterners seeking a better life in California. The Williams family settled in Bakersfield where all the members worked as migrant laborers. Williams became aware that “Okies” suffered from discrimination, so one day he asked his mother about it.

“It isn’t where you were born, it’s what you are,” was his mother’s humble reply — words Williams has strived to live by all his life.

–City of Carlsbad