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Heroes Sponsored by
FEEDING THE FUTURE Sermon moves couple to help local students
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n church one Sunday, listening to their pastor talk about needs in the community, residents Mike and Colby Miller were a bit surprised to learn that some children in Flagstaff go without food on a regular basis. They did little research on the topic and said they were “heartbroken” by what they discovered. More than a quarter of all children in Coconino County suffer food insecurity — not having enough or the appropriate food to grow and lead healthy lives. According to census data, about one in every three children in the county lives in poverty, and 40 percent qualify to receive free or reduced-fee school lunches through federal nutrition programs. Factors that contribute to food insecurity and hunger in the county include a high child poverty rate, higher unemployment rates in outlying areas of Flagstaff, cost of food and trouble with access to food, especially in smaller communities surrounding Flagstaff. After the Millers found out that a great number of local children receive school breakfast and lunch assistance, they wondered, “How are they being fed over the weekend?” “The mere thought of one of our children not having anything to eat for a length of time is just unimaginable,” said Mike Miller, talking by phone from Mexico where he, his wife and two of their children were with Amor Ministries spending spring break building homes for the needy.
In 2014 the Millers started Feeding Northern Arizona’s Future, a non-profit run entirely by volunteers that provides food packages for children to take home from school. They started with eight students in the Flagstaff Unified School District. Now, more than 380 students in Flagstaff and Williams are receiving FNAF packages each week of the school year. The packages contain six meals and a few snacks and are made as light as possible so kids can easily carry them home. The Millers said giving chil-
dren the food is a simple way to assist working parents who may not have the means or time to shop or go to a food bank. Studies show that children who don’t have enough to eat suffer physical ailments and lack mental focus — their school work lags and they are not as happy as other kids. Mike said those who receive help from food programs show improved test scores and reduced absenteeism. The Millers had not known much about running a non-profit, but said their family was moved to act by a simple motto:
“We can’t do everything, but we’re expected to do everything we can.” And like others who work behind the scenes to help their neighbors and community, they don’t see themselves as heroes. “We’re just doing what needs to be done,” said Colby. “It’s not about us. It’s about the kids. We’re trying to make a difference for them, in their lives.” Feeding Northern Arizona’s Future has a cadre of community volunteers and sponsors that step up with donations and assistance. “No one can do this kind of work alone,” said
Mike, who estimates that his family spends 10 to 15 hours a week with the program. As for where they find their inspiration, the couple said they were taught growing up that “when people need help, you help.” It’s that simple. They also said their Christian faith and their church, Christ Church of Flagstaff, are models for living lives of charity and generosity. To donate to or become a volunteer with Feeding Northern Arizona’s Future, please visit www.fnazf.org.
Learn about our goal to end hunger in our communities and eliminate food waste in our company by 2025. TheKrogerCo.com/sustainability/zero-hunger-zero-waste
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Sunday 3/25 Flagstaff Daily Sun 1807
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Heroes
Business Hero HomCo Lumber & Hardware With roots dating back to 1975, HomCo Lumber & Hardware has earned respect and recognition as one of Flagstaff ’s premier homegrown family businesses. Besides being customer-focused and helping its 95 employees achieve success, the company is involved in several community ventures and charities. HomCo says its philanthropic spirit is built on “helping our friends and neighbors through donations of our time, products and services.” According to owner Mike Brackin, the store donates more than $50,000 each year
to non-profits in northern Arizona. Its three annual signature events benefit women, children and others in the community. HomCo’s Ladies Night Out in November, featuring a now-famous Carhartt fashion show, brought in about $15,000 for Sharon Manor, a transitional shelter for victims of domestic violence. Its Shoes ‘n’ Brews horseshoe tournament in the summer benefits the Dawson Merrick Children’s Foundation, a local charity assisting families with children affected by leukemia and other critical diseases or tragic events. And, its annual springtime Community Home Improvement Show
raises thousands of dollars for the Boys and Girls Club of Flagstaff. In addition, the store extends its outreach by helping the homeless, members of the military and pet adoptions, by holding blood drives and participating in community events. It also holds free hands-on crafting and building workshops for kids. The business is consistently recognized by the community as a top business in the annual Best of Flag competition sponsored by the Arizona Daily Sun. HomCo is located at 1763 East Butler Ave., and online at myhomco.com.
than 6,000 hours of instruction each year to about 300 individuals or families. The center provides drop-in tutoring, one-onone tutoring, classes, family tutoring sessions, as well as lessons for inmates at the Coconino County Detention Facility. Among its programs, the Literacy Center provides GED preparation, English as a second language (ESL) classes, and assists with computer literacy skills, reading, writing, pronunciation and conversation. During dropin times, learners can stop in without an appointment and receive immediate literacy support. The center collaborates with other local non-profits, businesses and educational
facilities, including Coconino Community College, Flagstaff Shelter Service, Flagstaff Unified School District, Goodwill of Northern Arizona, the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association and Bookmans Entertainment Exchange. Its major supporters include the United Way of Northern Arizona, Arizona Community Foundation of Flagstaff, Forest Highlands Foundation and others. The Literacy Center is located at 2500 N. Rose St., Ste. 102, in Flagstaff. Drop-in tutoring is available Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3-7 pm.
encouraging businesses and service providers to offer discounts to those on the frontlines serving our country and community. The organization has reported giving more than $75,000 to local community heroes over the past four years. It also has presented gift cards to teachers for school supplies, held teacher appreciation luncheons
and given holiday gifts to firefighters and other first responders. Founding members of the club include Pioneer Title Agency, Academy Mortgage Corporation, Village Land Shoppe and Dan Hakes Agency of Farmers Insurance.
Search and Rescue is coordinated by Sgt. Aaron Dick, who has led the unit since 2005. He manages day-today operations, maintains equipment, oversees training of volunteers and works to acquire and deploy resources needed in search and rescue operations. The unit serves in 18,600 square miles of diverse, rugged and sometimes remote landscape. “We are a professional crew of over 100 people from around the area and we wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Aaron,” said Victoria Allen, a volunteer member of the unit. “He responds 24/7 to search and rescue initial calls… He recruits new volunteers, ensures qualified training for existing [volunteers] does paperwork, makes sure protocols
are followed, and more.” Dick came to the job with a love for the outdoors and for helping people. He has volunteer experience plus a multitude of training and experience in emergency medicine, mountaineering and technical rescues. Volunteers in the unit come from all walks of life. The search and rescue unit responded to more than 110 incidents in 2017. About half the calls came from stranded hikers. The sheriff ’s office is mandated by law to conduct search and rescue operations, and the unit is called to rescue anyone that needs help without charging fees.
ucates families about infant care and childhood development. To further serve her clients, Morrill is known to use social media to procure donations and set up GoFundMe accounts for families in desperate need. She also holds clothing, toy and book drives and collects infant clothing to disperse to clients. “She often goes beyond the expectations of her job,” said Dr. Julia Eskuchen, a pediatrician at North Country HealthCare. “She is an exceptional community health worker and has an easy-going personality, which makes her pleasurable to work with and puts
the clients at ease.” Although her workload is hefty, about 40-50 clients at any given time, Morrill takes on challenging cases and has helped secure housing for several families. She’s also provided doula services to single mothers who would have faced labor and delivery alone. “She truly cares about her clients and is innovative in how she helps them.” Eskuchen said. “Keri has made a positive impact on numerous clients and families in the community.”
Organization Heroes The Literacy Center Reading, writing and comprehension are the first gateways to achievement and success. Most people learn such skills at home and in school, but there are those that need extra assistance or those who have had to forego formal education. In such cases, the Literacy Volunteers of Coconino County and The Literacy Center have been at the ready to help since 1992. The center is a private non-profit with a singular mission: To increase the basic English language and literacy skills of adults, teens and families in order to improve the quality of personal, economic and community life for all. Volunteers deliver more
Northern Arizona Heroes Club All heroes have others behind them lending a hand and support. That’s the focus of the Northern Arizona Heroes Club. It assists local heroes — police, firefighters, military men and women, other first responders, teachers and medical professionals — by
For more information, call (928) 556-0313, or visit www.thinkliteracy.org.
For more information, visit nazheroesclub.com.
On call 24/7 Sgt. Aaron Dick and Coconino County Search and Rescue Northern Arizona is beautiful, but beauty can have its dangers. Dense forests, narrow and rocky canyons, high desert and alpine terrain, flash floods and a propensity toward risky high-altitude sports all contribute to a greater capacity for mishaps. The lost, trapped and injured must be plucked from danger. To the rescue comes a unit operated by the Coconino County Sheriff ’s Office and made up of sheriff deputies and specially trained, unpaid volunteers. The Coconino County
For more information, visit coconinosar.org and www.coconino.az.gov.
Above and beyond Keri Morrill When your work is more than a job, people take notice. Keri Morrill is one of those workers who goes the extra mile. She works overtime and weekends to assist pregnant women, newborns and families in Coconino County. Morrill is a community health worker for the Health Start Program run through North Country HealthCare. She does home visits, answers prenatal questions, assists pregnant women with applications for government assistance, helps prepare women for labor and delivery, and ed-
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Heroes
Special advertising supplement
Service to all Reggie Eccleston Giving the shirt off your back is an expression that’s not taken literally by most. For Reggie Eccleston, however, encountering a couple that was homeless in the cold spurred him to act. “I witnessed Reggie giving clothing to a homeless couple during the winter. Among what he gave to them was the coat he was wearing,” said Sandra Kowalski, a lifelong friend of the former New England Patriots football player. Eccleston works for the City of Flagstaff managing its Code Compliance Department, which addresses litter abatement, graffiti removal and issues with ice and snow removal. His ap-
Treasure and hero
William “Billy” Weldon Children see him each day on their way to school. He wears a smile and a bright orange safety vest and carries a stop sign. “Billy makes us feel welcome and safe on our way to school,” says second-grader Oscar Schepper of Marshall Elementary School. “He always greets everyone with high fives or hugs… He knows most of the students by name. He gives out treats to students on holidays or birthdays.” Students though may not know that their crossing guard is also someone
proach on the job is to work in partnership with community members to help keep Flagstaff neighborhoods safe and clean. Among his efforts, he spearheads the Graffiti Busters volunteer program. Since coming to Flagstaff in 2011, Eccleston has served in several community capacities. He’s worked as a crew supervisor for the Coconino County probation program, identifying service jobs for men on probation and working alongside them as a mentor. As director of the Murdoch Community Center, he brought education and entertainment programs to residents of the Southside community. He participates in the NAU
Civic Service Institute’s Community Engagement Committee, the Flagstaff Good Neighbor Coalition and the Lumberjack Athletic Mentoring Program. He is also involved with the Unified Progress International life skills program for at-risk youths. He’s a Flagstaff Leadership Program graduate and a member of the Coconino Community College Foundation Board of Directors. Residents may also have heard Eccleston as he’s covered local high school sports as a commentator on KAFF radio. It is rare and special that someone like Reggie “spends his life purposely and consistently in service to others,” Kowalski said.
who keeps a close watch over veterans. A veteran himself, Weldon works tirelessly to make sure veterans receive and get to the services they need and the honors they’re due. His Purple Heart Truck is a staple in parades in Flagstaff and across the state. When Weldon was named the 2014 Male Citizen of the Year by the Arizona Daily Sun, he told the paper, “I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. A smile on someone’s face — that’s what life is about, helping somebody else who needs it.” Weldon has been a
Flagstaff resident since 1953. He went to Emerson Elementary School, Flagstaff Junior High School and then Flagstaff High School. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Army and did two tours in Vietnam — once with the 101st Airborne, and once with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. In 2105 he was inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame. His work on behalf of students, his commitment to veterans and his service to the country, make Weldon a true Flagstaff treasure and hero.
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Heroes WE WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE ALL OF OUR LOCAL HEROES! THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR WE’VE REACHED OUT TO OUR READERS TO HAVE THEM SELECT AND RECOGNIZE SOME OF OUR LOCAL HEROES WHO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE AND WORK!
Thank You!
From the Staff at the Arizona Daily Sun and Azdailysun.com
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Special advertising supplement
Empowering youth Nan Shoaff Helping teens out of crises seems taxing and sometimes impossible work, but Nan Shoaff is driven to help young people live better lives and has spent three decades as a crisis intervention specialist. She’s a hero because she “gives up on no one,” said area counselor Nancy McCleskey, who has known Shoaff for years. “Nan walks her talk. She is open and honest and dedicated when working with our youth.” Her commitment to even the hardest cases is a testa-
ment to her personal motto: “As long as there is breath, there is hope.” Shaoff is a probation counselor with the Coconino County Juvenile Court. She serves as a mentor and advocate for young people in the court system, but goes beyond that work by connecting teens and families with critical resources, by engaging with other colleagues involved in their care and by providing resources and outreach to schools in the community. She also provides counseling in parenting and mar-
riage and helps with job procurement. She was part of the staff that implemented the nationally recognized Exodus Program for inmate substance abuse treatment in the Coconino County detention facilities. “To say that Nan goes above and beyond her job duties is an understatement,” said McCleskey. “She has made a tremendous difference for our youth in her 30 years of serving some of our most challenged youth in the community.”
in Flagstaff. Internationally, he’s served with Doctors Without Borders in the Philippines, Ethiopia, South Africa and the Middle East and spent a twomonth stint in Sierra Leone caring for those with the Ebola virus. After returning from that mission, he told the Arizona Daily Sun that is was a Quaker proverb he found in the basement of his church that spurred him to take on the risky mission. “I shall pass through this world but once,” the proverb says. “Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me
not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” Spence is actively involved with the Church of the Epiphany and serves on the vestry and as an acolyte. He recently took on the responsibility of maintenance for the historic church. Far from a non-working retiree, he is also active in a number community, state and national organizations, including the Citizens Climate Action Committee, the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, Death Penalty Alternatives for Arizona and Physicians for Social Responsibility.
youths, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, housing and shelter initiatives, arts programs and other community organizations. Then there is Full Circle Collectibles, an eBay for charity shop in which people can liquidate collectibles or antiques. The items for sale receive a wide potential buyers pool, but part or all of the proceeds then benefit local charities like the Full Circle People’s Pantry. That brings us to the third and latest component of the Packard charities, The Full Circle People’s Pantry located at 2529 E. 7th Ave. It was formed last year to help people in need of food assistance who cannot take advantage of other charities because of circumstances. The pantry is open 3-7 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, giving working adults time to make pantry visits. Instead of being presented with a box of
items, people are encouraged to select their own food, like anyone would do at a grocery store. And, the People’s Pantry makes a point to carry fresh fruits and vegetables as well as cold grocery items such as meat, dairy and eggs. In one month alone, the pantry assisted more than 2,300 adults and 1,160 children. “We had no idea how bad the need was until after we opened,” Bill told the Arizona Daily Sun in December. The Packards have been longtime Flagstaff residents, and Bill once said that that the majority of the town’s volunteers are women. He encouraged more men to “step forward and reap the rewards of volunteering.” For additional information, visit fullcircletrade.net or call (928) 699-7831.
Here and beyond Dr. David Spence There are those that see the entire world as their community, and that appears to be the outlook of Dr. David Spence, a Flagstaff physician and activist. “The doctor works constantly for the betterment of mankind,” read the nomination form submitted to Flagstaff Heroes. Spence spent much of his career with the Indian Health Services and has worked for the Native Americans for Community Action health center. At age 77, he now treats those in need by volunteering weekly at the Poore Medical Clinic
For the people Bill & Barbara Packard They might be called Flagstaff ’s charity gurus. Bill and Barbara Packard are experts in the founding of non-profit volunteer organizations. They’ve helped several get off the ground and now operate Full Circle Charities, which assists nonprofits and those in need directly. Full Circle has a threefold operation. Its Cash for Local Change is funded by local businesses that donate 1 percent of their cash sales to support area nonprofits. The couple calls it a win-win situation because it encourages citizens to support local businesses and pay with cash to offset the donation a business can give with their savings from not paying credit card fees. Last year Cash for Local Change grants totaling more than $62,000 benefited at-risk
g n i r o n o H
Verda Denetsosie SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELOR
For more than 25 years, Verda Denetsosie has been helping those who are addressing their substance abuse or addiction. While attending a recovery session with a family member, Verda recognized she needed help, too. During her recovery she realized she was meant to be a counselor and dedicated her life to helping others. “I saw hope through my own recovery and through others.”
Verda has lived in Flagstaff since 1985 and is a graduate of Northern Arizona University. She began her career at Indian Health Service and joined NACA in 1992. Where Empowerment po Happens ppe