
Honoring the Community Heroes of 2020
Volunteers, givers, firefighters and more are featured in this Pamplin Media Group special section.
Communities are the glue that hold our cities, states and country together.
And heroes are the people who support, sustain and sometimes save those communities in times of trouble.
Let’s be honest, 2020 has been a time of trouble. It began with an impeachment, then accelerated downhill with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and the ensuing lockdown of American society, the death of George Floyd in police custody in May (and the protests and violence that followed) and, more recently, included unprecedented wildfires across Oregon and much of the west coast.
Through it all, it’s been some of the best people among us that have kept our communities safe, interesting and livable in these unprecedented times. Because of that, we are taking a moment to honor our best with its first-ever Community Heroes special section. Community Heroes, which is being distributed this week in more than 20 papers printed and distributed by Pamplin Media Group, honors some of the best, most productive, bravest and most giving citizens in the communities served by PMG papers.
In this special section, you’ll read about April Murchinson, who serves as Associate Pastor at Emmanuel Church in North Portland, as well as lead volunteer for the Portland Police Bureau’s Crisis Response Team. You’ll find out about the efforts of Gresham’s Frani Grover, who has tirelessly fed and aided unhoused people in East Multnomah County. Then there’s Sherwood’s Rich Stamps, a lieutenant for Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, who cut short a hunting trip with buddies to help fight fires in the Chehalem Mountain-Bald Peak area of Yamhill and Washington counties.
The stories — more than 20 of them — go on throughout the section, each one highlighting people from one of the many communities served by Pamplin Media Group newspapers.
Also featured in the Community Heroes section for 2020 are: Beaverton bus driver extraordinaire Aaron Baune; Prineville volunteer star Carol Benkosky; first responders to wildfires from Canby, Molalla and Colton; Cornelius community supporter Laura Christy;
St. Helens food bank dynamo Meagan Fawcett; Estacada businessman and volunteer Marvin Flora; Sandy nonprofit leader Machel Heldstab; Lake Oswego animal lover Marie Heppner; Beaverton student/entrepreneur Neel Jain; Tualatin employment specialist Robert Knight; Newberg uber-volunteer Anne Mildenberger; Wilsonville refugee advocate Kristi Park; Hillsboro gardener Heather Peterson; West Linn psychiatric consultant/author/Peace Corps volunteer Ellen Urbani; Gresham’s Kirsten Wageman, the executive director for SnowCap Community Charities; Sherwood baker/giver Alex Wilson; and Hubbard food pantry star Whitney Workman.
These sections aren’t possible without the generous support of our sponsors and advertisers. We offer special thanks to Pacific Office Automation who stepped up to be our Community Hero Sponsor for this year. As you read these stories, please consider supporting the businesses who have advertised in theis section. Without their support, we wouldn’t be able to acknowledge the accomplishments of our community heroes.
PROUD SPONSORS OF THE 2020 COMMUNITY HEROES
PRESENTING SPONSOR
HERO SPONSOR
COMMUNITY SPONSORS
The Times – Beaverton
Sponsor – Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation
Herald Pioneer – Canby
Sponsor – Canby Herald
Clackamas Review – Clackamas County
Sponsor: Oregon Impact
The Spotlight – Columbia County
Sponsor: Dealers Market
Estacada News
Sponsor: Weston Kia
News-Times – Forest Grove
Sponsor – City of Cornelius
The Outlook – Gresham
Sponsor – Gresham Ford
The Outlook – Gresham
Sponsor – Justin Hwang
Clackamas Review – Gladstone
Sponsor: Armstrong Volkswagen
Happy Valley News
Sponsor: Chock Barhoum LLP
News-Times – Hillsboro
Sponsor – Darcy Edwards and Robert Groves
Lake Oswego Review
Sponsor – Terry Sprague, Luxe Christie’s International Real Estate
Madras Pioneer
Sponsor – Madras Sanitary
Central Oregonian – Prineville
Sponsor – Central Oregonian
Herald Pioneer – Molalla
Sponsor – Molalla Sanitary Services
Newberg Graphic
Sponsor – Newberg Graphic
Portland Tribune
Sponsor – Global Solariums
Portland Tribune
Sponsor – Boys and Girls Aid Society
Sandy Post
Sponsor – Suburban Auto Group
Sherwood Gazette
Sponsor – Broadway Furniture
The Times – Tualatin
Sponsor – City of Tualatin
The Times – Tigard
Sponsor – Crescent Grove Cemetery
West Linn Tidings
Sponsor – Pacific Office Automation
Wilsonville Spokesman
Sponsor – Audi Wilsonville
Woodburn Independent
Sponsor – Woodburn Independent