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Pleasanton native Chuck Deckert, a devoted supporter of a variety of local nonprofits and a city commissioner for nearly a decade, received the 2026 Mayor’s Award last week.
Mayor Jack Balch praised Deckert as “a powerful reminder of what genuine community looks like” while presenting the surprise award during the city’s annual Commission and Committee Recognition Dinner & Mayor’s Award Celebration on April 16 at Callippe Preserve Golf Course.
“Chuck is a man whose actions match his words, and whose life is guided by a north star pointed firmly toward kindness. Pleasanton is lucky to call him one of its own,” Balch said in his speech.
“For more than 25 years, he has been at work behind the scenes, helping bring people together, organizing events that have become cherished traditions, and stepping in wherever there was a need,” the mayor added. “In fact, if you have attended a community event in Pleasanton, there is a good chance you have seen him – not front and center, but just off to the side, camera in hand, documenting the moments that bring our community together.”
Deckert, who just wrapped a nine-year stint on the Pleasanton Parks and Recreation Commission, has held leadership or volunteer roles with notable nonprofits including St. Vincent de Paul, Open Heart Kitchen, Valley Humane Society, Hope Hospice, Spectrum Community Services, Pleasanton-Tulancingo Sister City Association and American Red Cross. He has also been a freelance photographer for the Pleasanton Weekly and its sister publications since 2021.
“Certainly haven’t for notoriety or kudos engaged with the many nonprofits I have worked with over the years,” Deckert told the Weekly on Friday.
“Was very nice and a complete surprise to hear some key words in Jack’s announcement speech to realize I was this year’s Mayor’s Award recipient,” Deckert said. “Will admit it was nice to have the mayor, who represents the city I love, think enough of my volunteer efforts to extend his award to me this year.”
Deckert, an Amador Valley High School alumnus, worked a long career in corporate sales and has always been connected to his hometown and its residents – but his experience with lymphoma in his 40s inspired more intentional action.
“After surviving a very aggressive cancer in 2005 something changed in me having a heavy desire to help those much less fortunate than me,” Deckert said. “The substantial time since, working with nonprofits who feed and assist the local underserved population and seniors who are in need of some type of assistance, has been a true labor of love.”
Among his noteworthy volunteer accomplishments, Deckert has coordinated more than 30 mobile blood drives for the Red Cross, participated in the Paws to Read and therapy dog programs with his “sweet personable lab” Zoey and served as a leader with the Hometown Holiday Celebration committee.
Of Deckert’s parks commission tenure, Balch lauded a record of “genuine care, near-perfect attendance, boundless enthusiasm and an unwavering commitment to making Pleasanton a place where everyone feels at home. Over nearly a decade, Chuck helped shape the parks, programs and facilities that residents enjoy today.”
“Chuck’s impact extends far beyond any commission seat or program outcome,” the mayor said. “He is the kind of person who shows up not because he has to, but because that is simply who he is. He greets everyone with a smile and a hug. He remembers names. He asks how you are doing and means it. He makes people feel seen, valued, and welcomed, not as a gesture, but as a way of life.”
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