Ed was born in Cleveland, Ohio.  He lived a few years in Erie, Pennsylvania.  He remembers 20' snowdrifts.  At age 16, his family moved to Mesa where he attended and graduated from Mountain View High School.  He went on to ASU where he studied Electrical Engineering Technology and went on to receive his Masters Degree also from ASU.

 

He worked in product development.  One of the jobs he did was to design a slot machine, which made him acutely aware of the odds of a player winning, so he doesn't play.

 

In 1997, Ed married Debbie.  She was from Wisconsin and was the youngest of eight children.  

 

 

In 1999, James came along and Ed and Debbie learned about sleep deprivation.  Susie arrived in 2002.  Ed and his father started a medical device company.  Based on neuro plasticity - the brain can revive.  With appropriate repetitive exercise, the brain can be retrained and patients can regain functionality and independence.  The problem was that it needed to be six hours a day five days a week - a rehab price insurance companies would not pay.  The desired machine would involve robotics with the patients participating in an engaging game.  It could not be a cost burden.  two out of three of those challenges would be easy.

 

The machines could be rented.  They would provide usage analysis.  The device would record time spent, and the game could record progress which was important for insurance to continue to pay.  Ed remembered one individual who celebrated what the machine had enabled him to be able to do again.  When out walking his dog, he had regained the ability to pick up dog poop while maintaining control of the dog on its leash.  

 

In 2015 the medical device company was sold to a company in Atlanta.  Governor Janet Napolitano presented Ed with the Arizona Innovation Award.  He is one of two to ever receive the award.  He remembers that as a fun day and said Governor Napolitano was a "crackup."

 

Ed was elected to serve as President of Mesa West Rotary in 2015-16.  During that year, his parents had a house fire, and he worked with helping solve their many insurance issues.  As his year as President was drawing to a close, Mesa West merged with Mesa Baseline and he had the distinction of being the club president who gained 18 new members in a single day.

 

Ed explained the back story behind why he still periodically announces the number of days til the next Star Wars movie is released.  The date that "The Force Awakens" would be released had been announced and he opened each meeting with an announcement as to how many days were left until that event occured.  When it did happen, he was there.  He does own Star Wars PJ's, socks and - Yes, there is room for all.

 

From 2016-2021, Ed was at GCU to start an electrical engineering technical program.  He got to write the program and teach the program.  He loved working with the students.  He was a mentor for the GCU Robotics Club.  They made it to the finals in an international competition and received the judges award for the tem with the most promising future.

 

Over time the environment at GCU for the program changed.  It was no longer insulated and he felt like he wasn't heard when offering advice about how the program would work best.  There was no support from new deans and he felt like his students were not being supported as they should have been.

 

 

In 2021, Ed started a new business - Keepers Workshop - using talents developed as an avocation in creative woodworking.  He is shown with the crib he built for James in 1999.  He shared a photo of a backlit headboard he built for his mother and a second photo of the same headboard illustrating that the lighting is changeable.  From the custom stands he has created to showcase various art pieces to the California serving tray he created for his brother to cutting boards that are "too pretty to use, the diversity of his talent is displayed.

 

Mesa West Rotary does not hold a regular meeting on the 5th Thursday.  We plan an alternate off-site activity.  On March 31, we are invited to the Koeneman home to visit Keeper's Workshop.  We will have the opportunity to see a live demo, enjoy catered tacos and have fun.

 

Additional Ed Koeneman Trivia