Jerry Keller has attended more than 1,500 coffee clatters in the 31 years he has organized and emceed the Redmond Chamber of Commerce’s weekly networking event.

The exact number eludes him, however.

“I’ve been at more than I can count, that’s for sure,” said Keller, who was named Redmond’s citizen of the year at the chamber’s annual banquet, held on a frigid Jan. 19 at the High Desert Music Hall.

Keller arrived in Redmond as a single man in 1984, when the city had just 6,600 residents. A lot changed over the course of 39 years. Keller married, raised three sons, operated a successful business and eventually retired. Over that same timeframe, Redmond ballooned from 6,600 to 37,000 residents. Keller was involved with the Redmond Chamber of Commerce for nearly all of it, first joining the organization in 1990.

Redmond Chamber of Commerce director Eric Sande said Keller has been part of the Redmond Chamber for as long as he could remember. He said that as a chamber ambassador he “embodied the lighthearted, dependable and dedicated spirit” of the organization.

“He has greeted thousands of newcomers and regulars to coffee clatters for decades, welcoming them with kind words, a big smile and lots of humor,” said Sande.

For Keller, making sure the chamber led friendly, welcoming events was critical to support and grow Redmond businesses.

“As a city grows, it usually becomes a little colder, less friendly,” said Keller. “I wanted to keep Redmond a friendly place.”

That friendliness often translated into good business results, said Keller.

“I think having part of the reason for the chamber is to network, and you’re not going to network if its unfriendly,” he said. “People like to do business with someone who is honest and friendly — who they know and recognize.”

When Keller first took over organizing them in 1990, chamber networking events would rarely draw more than two dozen attendees. But as Redmond grew, so did the clatter crowds. Just before COVID, the weekly get-togethers hit their largest size ever — 200 people packed in for one Friday morning.

“That actually caused some problems (because) it was so many people,” said Keller. “It made introductions hard.”

COVID stopped the in-person gatherings for awhile, but Keller moved the weekly gatherings online. The conversation didn’t flow as easily in the virtual realm, but Keller said they grew to get about 800 views for some networking chats — more than their in-person number.

“I was not crazy about (moving to Zoom),” said Keller. “It was hard, but we did it.”

Keller worked to keep the clatters interesting over the years. For awhile, he would end each gathering with some “words of wisdom” — a light phrase or an inspirational or funny quote. Then he transitioned into investigating idioms, probing the crowd to consider why we say things like “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

Keller said he was always trying to leave people with a “humorous story they could take back to the office.”

A longtime member of Redmond Kiwanis, Keller retired after decades owning and operating Shining Enterprises, his Redmond-based carpet cleaning and janitorial business. He has technically “retired” from the chamber board, but he still emcees most gatherings and is an avid member of the chamber ambassadors.

“It has been a real blessing,” said Keller.

Keller wasn’t the only person honored Jan. 19. A number of other local residents and businesses took home awards from the chamber.

The Redmond Industrial Park won the business of the year award, Blacksmith Public House won for best new business, Local Paws won the customer service award, Ken Piarulli won for community involvement, and John Fremoire won the chamber ambassador of the year award.