A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2017
FROM PAGE A1
FINEST:
continued from Page A1
• Pat Hart, Man of
the Year: The retired
chief of Hermiston Fire
& Emergency Services
was awarded for his ser-
vice in Rotary Club and
community
Christmas
and Thanksgiving din-
ners, maintaining Fun-
land playground, opening
his home to overnight
visitors, serving on the
Chamber of Commerce
board and donating his
photography for charity
fundraisers.
• Liz Marvin, Woman
of the Year: The Hermis-
ton High School counselor
was awarded as a com-
passionate, graceful, wise,
devoted, an impressive-
ly skilled organizer, and
someone to whom students
often turn for advice out of
respect and admiration.
• Jeanne Jewett, The
Spirit of Excellence: A
multimedia
consultant
for the Hermiston Her-
ald/East Oregonian and
a chamber ambassador,
she was recognized for
her “real leadership and
exemplary values” as she
works as chairwoman of
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Former Hermiston fire chief Pat Hart speaks after being named Man of the Year at the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce’s
Distinguished Citizens Awards Banquet on Feb. 1 in Hermiston.
the chamber ambassadors,
a member of the Leader-
ship Hermiston steering
committee, the founder of
the Butte Challenge and
an organizer of many golf
tournaments for charity.
•
Vanessa
Am-
briz-Mendoza and Elias
“Ismael” Arenas, Altru-
san Outstanding Young
Citizens: Presenter Lu-
Ann Davison said Am-
briz-Mendoza is an in-
telligent young woman
with grace, curiosity and
a dedication to serving
others, which she does
through the Ford Lead-
ership Foundation, Good
Shepherd
Community
Student Foundation and
frequent fundraisers for
nonprofits. She described
Arenas as a dependable
young man who has
gained great confidence
and maturity through
participation in National
Honor Society, Key Club
and soccer.
• Terry Cummings:
Fire Service Award: Ter-
ry Cummings, who serves
as lead chaplain for Herm-
iston’s fire district and po-
lice department. See the
accompanying feature.
• Good Shepherd Health
Care System, Rotary Busi-
ness of the Year: One of
Hermiston’s largest employ-
ers with more than 550 staff
and a payroll of $37 million.
Good Shepherd also gives
back by providing free rides
to medical appointments
through the Carevan, award-
ing grants and scholarships
through the Good Shepherd
Community Health Founda-
tion and activities like a re-
cent food drive that collected
5,000 food items for Agape
House.
•
School
district
awards: Also recog-
nized Wednesday was
Hermiston School Dis-
trict’s Administrator of
the Year, high school
principal Tom Spoo and
teacher of the year Garth
Lind, who teaches fifth
grade at Desert View El-
ementary.
ihen they say “No More Snow!”
and you say “Th e iind
iin iill Blow?”
541-567-4063
405 N. 1st St., Suite #107,
Hermiston
HEALING:
continued from Page A1
“Those men and women
see the worst of the worst,”
Cummings said. “They
probably experience and
see more in a month than
most people do in a lifetime.
Not many people run into a
burning building or attend to
some atrocity — but that’s
their line of work.”
Cummings said for first
responders, normal life is
“anything but.”
“I’ve talked to first re-
sponders who’ve gone
through horrific inci-
dents,” he said. “If they’re
not careful they stuff
things inside.”
Giving those people
someone to talk to allows
them to work through
some of the stresses of the
job, Cummings said, and
can be important in guard-
ing against post-traumatic
stress disorder.
“Just being able to talk
to someone helps them
cope with the stress,”
Cummings said.
Chaplains also re-
sponds to other needs in
the community — such
as this Monday morning,
when Hermiston High
School senior Brok Palm-
er died at his home.
“We try to offer any
kind of hope or support
to victims,” he said. “In
that case our job is to get
them connected to some-
one they can turn to for
support, like a pastor or a
priest.”
In the past year, Herm-
iston has had several inci-
dents where minors have
died. Last summer’s dou-
ble murder and suicide
took the life of 14-year-
old JJ Hurtado and his
wrestling coach Kenneth
Valdez.
“In a community the
size of Hermiston, rela-
tionships are like a spider
web,” he said. “People are
connected through friends,
family, work — you never
know who’s going to be
affected. It takes a huge
toll.”
Chaplains sometimes
accompany first respond-
ers to a scene, or to the
emergency room. They
are often the ones that de-
liver death notifications
to families, and offer any
support they can, both to
families and emergency
responders.
He recalls the situation
last summer, where there
were multiple families in-
volved, as well as law en-
forcement officials from
local and state agencies.
“At that point, our job
one is to make sure they
were coping properly,
dealing with the situa-
tion,” he said. “When an
event like that affects the
whole community, that’s
when we get involved.”
Cummings added that
his job — to help first re-
sponders work through
trauma — can take a toll
on him, as well.
“One thing chaplains
and first responders have
to worry about is vicarious
trauma,” he said. “Part of
my ability to cope comes
from my faith.”
He said chaplains also
turn to each other, their fam-
ilies and friends for support.
“To me, it’s all about
the health and welfare of
first responders,” he said.
“They’re all people I love
very much, and want to
make sure they’re OK at
the end of the day.”
While he said not every
pastor has the personality
to be a chaplain, he feels
he’s found his calling.
“It’s a huge, huge privi-
lege.”
Verna Taylor,
HAS
Ric Jones,
BC-HIS
Forrest Cahill,
HAS
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