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New city manager back to doing what he loves BY JORDAN ROGERS
Peoria Times Managing Editor
H NEWS..............4 The Bubble Bowl is the ultra bubble experience
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
Peoria’s Hometown Newspaper
enry Darwin is back to doing what he loves. After taking a hiatus from public service to practice law at Phoenix-based firm Gallagher & Kennedy, Darwin has returned to his calling as the city of Peoria’s new city manager. “I am wanting to see if I would enjoy the practice of law,” Darwin said. “And what I found was that I certainly could do it, and I was successful. But I really did miss public service. I realized that’s what my passion
Henry Darwin is back working in public service as the city of Peoria’s new city manager. (City of Peoria/Submitted)
is, and that’s what I plan on doing for the rest of my career.” Darwin has over 25 years of public service under his belt. He served as the chief operating officer (COO) for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As EPA COO, he single-handedly designed and led deployment of the first agencywide lean management system in the U.S. federal government, known as the EPA Lean Management System. Darwin’s favorite thing about working in public service falls in line with his plan for SEE DARWIN PAGE 2
Local among first to join Peace Corps post-pandemic BY JOE MCHUGH
Peoria Times Staff Writer
FEATURES .....24 Celebrate Valentine’s Day at these places
OPINION.........................9 BUSINESS .....................14 SPORTS .........................16 FEATURES .....................19 CALENDAR ...................30 RELIGION......................32 YOUTH ..........................34 CLASSIFIEDS .................36
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eoria resident Colt Dreyer will be among the first Peace Corps volunteers to go back overseas following the evacuation of all members back in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent college graduate has been ready for this moment to go out and change the world in “what has been a long time coming.” “I’ve been looking into that idea for a really long time; I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” Dreyer said. “But I knew whatever I did want to do. I wanted to challenge myself to get out in the world a little bit. And no matter what
career I went into or even if it’s not a career, just what I do with my time here on Earth, I wanted to give back to the world that has given me so much.” Dreyer has always had the urge to help people. The oldest sibling and cousin of his family, he has spent what has felt like the majority of his life helping out. Playing a vital role in raising his little brother, Dreyer developed that urge to be the one people can rely on to be there. Making his way through the education system, Dreyer was uncertain of which direction he wanted his career path, and life for that matter, to go. Enrolling in Northern Arizona University, he studied politics but was looking for his way to do right by SEE DREYER PAGE 2
Colt Dreyer, a Peoria resident, will join the Peace Corps with a mission to help inspire change around the world. (Submit-
ted)
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