Ethics and morals have always been very important to Hosi Mehta.

They’re the reasons he gave up his auto repair shop in India more than 20 years ago and moved back to the United States.

Although it had been his dream to come to the U.S., learn how to be a mechanic and take that knowledge back to his homeland, Mehta was appalled by the amount of corruption he faced there.

“It affected everyone,” said the Elmhurst resident. “It was a lose-lose situation. I had to ask, ‘Do I give up my dreams or my principles?’ I realized I can always get another dream, but I’ve got to live with my principles.”

Mehta and his wife, Kim, returned to the Chicago area and opened a new auto repair shop in Oak Brook. Five years later, they relocated Mehta Motors to Elmhurst, where they’ve operated for almost 20 years, he said.

Few can match Mehta’s level of civic involvement in the last two decades. Today, he serves as president of Character Counts, as a member of the city’s Youth Commission and with the Elmhurst Kiwanis Club, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ray Graham Association and the Elmhurst Walk-in Ministry.

Almost 10 years ago, he helped spearhead Elmhurst Community Unit District 205’s youth mentoring program, which today pairs dozens of local role models with students.

“I knew there were kids in trouble or kids that just needed some adults to look up to,” he said. “I said, ‘We need to do something before it’s too late or we’re going to lose those kids.’”

Mehta helped create Character Counts in 2003. The organization awards plaques each year to Elmhurst residents, both young and old, for their service to the community.

“I told (Mayor Tom Marcucci) how nice it would be to have some ethics or values brought into our schools,” Mehta said. “He said if I felt strongly enough about it to join the Youth Commission. So when the idea of Character Counts came up, I was interested. I said I’d like to get the whole community involved in it.”

Today, the city of Elmhurst, Police Department, Chamber of Commerce, Park District, Elmhurst Public Library, Elmhurst College and Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare all work with Character Counts in some fashion, Mehta said.

His work keeps him busy, but he enjoys it.

“I believe time is a stretchable entity,” he said. “I don’t believe time is fixed. If you really want to find the time to do something, you do it. And it gives me pleasure to do something like this. It’s very close to my heart.”

Although he will remain on the board of Character Counts, Mehta plans to step down as president.

“I would like to have a new president. It’s nice to have different people with different ideas,” he said.

Character Counts also is need of new board members, Mehta said. Board members attend one meeting per month and are responsible for setting policy and identifying programs that are supported by Character Counts.