Couple’s move to eastern Oregon leaves big void

“It’s bittersweet,” she said.

But it’s not their first move. Like many other community contributors, the Ciraulos came here from someplace else: in their case, from California, where Mike started his firefighting career. They quickly found ways to contribute to Clark County.

“We just enjoy getting involved in the communities where we work,” said Mike. He joined the conversation by speakerphone from Pendleton, where he said he’s joining the local Rotary Club.

Coming and going

It’s a cycle local community leaders have seen before. As some people leave, newcomers arrive because of job relocations or for family reasons. But their community involvement isn’t a simple matter of addition and subtraction. Losing a key contributor means an organization sometimes must put a project on hold.

Jeanne Kojis, executive director of the Nonprofit Network of Southwest Washington, has seen how these relocations have different timetables. The loss is immediate when people leave; when people arrive, it’s a different story.

“New people have a harder time connecting,” Kojis said.

Gilda Ciraulo sees a bit of that in her new hometown, where her community involvement “will be a process of getting to know people,” she said.

Over the years, the Ciraulos often were members of the same organizations in and around Battle Ground.

After Mike joined the Lewis River Rotary Club, “I joined so we could do things together,” Gilda (pronounced “Jilda”) said.

“It was nice to have Gilda on the same boards,” Mike said. During some stretches of their busy lives, “it was the only time we saw each other.”

There also was a partnership aspect to being in the same organizations, he noted.

“Alone, we did OK,” Mike said. “Together, we complemented each other.”

“Mike is a guy with ideas,” Gilda said with a grin. “I do the work. When Mike was mayor in 2009 or 2010, he initiated a Battle Ground Cares Committee. I chaired it.”

Fire-blowing fire chief

There have been a couple of areas where the Ciraulos specialized. Gilda served on the board of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra; the theme song for Mike’s résumé could be “Rock and Roll All Nite.”

Three years ago, Mike and some other would-be rockers lip-synched a Kiss performance during a charity fundraising event. While he’s not a musician, Mike tapped another skill during his tribute to Kiss frontman Gene Simmons.

“I can blow fire,” he said.

Mike and a friend learned it when they were kids, he said. “It came in handy performing as Kiss.”

Upon further reflection, he said, “it’s one of the worst things a fire chief can do.” But it was a first-time event, and “I wanted to kick it off by going over the top.”