Local man is one of United Way’s top donors

When the volunteers who raise funds for Pinal County United Way start working their list, they always draw a line through Keith McGlaughlin’s name.

The Thunderbird Farms resident doesn’t need a reminder. He’s given $10,000 of his own salary every year to the charity organization. And he’s done it every year for the past six years.

“It’s just my way of giving back to the community,” McGlaughlin said. His contributions are deducted from each paycheck and “it’s not so noticeable that way,” he said, modestly.

“I’ve been pretty lucky,” the 63-year-old widower added. “I spent 30 years as a submariner with the U.S. Navy, and I draw a nice pension.” That stipend supplements his income from his job as a computer technician for Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino and Resort, just seven miles up the highway from his home.

McGlaughlin said he is proud of the fact that he has received three separate Chairman’s Awards from his employer, the latest of which was given to him last year. The award is bestowed on the Harrah’s employee who, in the opinion of his co-workers and management, best exemplifies the company’s long-term commitment to community causes.

In addition to his monetary contributions to United Way, McLaughlin serves as a first vice president and community impact chairman of the Pinal County United Way.

“That means basically that I meet with other people occasionally to help choose the charities most deserving of our awards,” he said. The United Way provides grants to 15 organizations in the county.”

The Navy taught McGlaughlin the basics of information technology, and he parlayed that knowledge and experience into a job with Harrah’s in 1994, before the Ak-Chin casino was built.

“We spent the first few months working in a warehouse in Chandler, assembling all of the components necessary for a complete system,” he explained.

His generosity can be explained, in part, by what he considers the good luck and excellent medical care his son, Justin, received. Diagnosed with severe hepatitis, Justin checked in to the UCLA Medical Center in 1987 and received a new liver from a donor shortly afterward.

“The doctors told us he might live another five years,” McGlaughlin said, “but I guess he won against all the odds.” Justin’s new liver has lasted 20 years, and as long as he stays fairly isolated, his prognosis is good.

McGlaughlin explained that even the most minor exposure to cold, flu and other common germs could precipitate a severe medical crisis for Justin, who lives with his wife, Sue, and his father in the semi¬-rural community to the south of Maricopa.

When he isn’t tending to Justin’s needs, or at work, McLaughlin tends the three head of whiteface cattle he raises for the family’s personal consumption. “There’s nothing like good beef, fed on local grains, without the use of steroids and other chemicals,” he said.

He admits, however, that his days of raising beef for the family dinner table may be coming to an end. “The price of hay has gone out of sight,” he said. A native of Columbus, Ohio, McGlaughlin became interested in animal husbandry while visiting and working at his grandparents’ farm.

“They raised pigs, though,” he said, with a slight tone of disdain.

Photo by Joe Giumette

See related story on Page 12 of the March/April issue of 85239 The Magazine.