Last modified: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 1:42 PM PST Payette City Fire Chief Jeff Sands has been awarded the Distinguished Citizen of the Year award by the Payette Chamber of Commerce. Sands has dedicated his life to the city he loves and calls home. Distinguished career By Brandi Mack Argus Observer Payette - Payette Fire Department Chief Jeff Sands has dedicated his life to the safety of the city and its residents. That devotion is a key reason Sands will be honored with the Payette Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Citizen Award Feb. 16. Sands, 49, will receive his award at the Payette Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Installment Banquet which will be held in conjunction with Payette Chamber of Commerce Serves You (PAYCCSY) at the Payette Armory. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour. Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. Sands, a Payette native, said he has been with the Payette Fire Department for 24 years. Sands said he takes pride in the fact he and his family have strong roots in the Payette community. “We were all born and raised in Payette,” Sands said. “My whole family, children and everything.” Sands and his wife Karen have been married for 30 years. The couple have three children — Kathleen Stauff, 29, Valerie Allen, 27 and Stewart Sands, 22. Stauff is a teacher at the North Bend School District in North Bend. Ore., while Allen works at a hair salon and the Hammer/Shell store in Fruitland and Stewart Sands is an auto body painter for Monte’s Auto Body in Payette. Stauff and her husband, David, have two children Chandler and Patrick. Allen and her husband, Matt, have four children, Zack, Zane, Zander and Zoe. Sands opened a recreational vehicle repair shop (Sands RV) in town in 1983 and worked on RVs until 2000 when he was promoted to chief of the Payette Fire Department. Sands said he only worked at four different places in his life before the fire department. He worked for Nelson Sheet Metal in high school as a work study, then he was employed at Trail Farms in high school, with his wife and worked at Champion Homes until he opened his business in 1983. Sands said he likes to stay busy and keep his mind working. “My mind gets to going 90 miles per hour and I just love it,” Sands said. “But, as I get older, it just keeps getting worse.” Sands said he and his wife are working on building a new house. They did not have to ponder the location of the home very long, Sands said. “I have no desire to leave here,” Sands said. “I probably never will. When you drive to work and wave at 10 people, that’s nice. I like everything about this town.” Sands said that although Payette does not have as much opportunity as it used to, making your own opportunities isn’t hard. He said opportunities do not arrive often, but when they do, an individual must grab and utilize them. “Everything I have gone through this year, personal issues, the fire station bond, everything, looking back at it all, it’s made me a better fire chief,” Sands said. “I just really like what I do. I just like our town and I’ve always liked it here. I think its good for people to have that small town feel. I wouldn’t trade my fire years for anything in this world, other than my family. I love helping people.”