vernonia’s
voice volunteerism
september
2008
17
Vernonia Bear Creek Run/Walk a Great Success!
By Maria Lemay
The Sixth Annual Bear Creek Run/Walk, a fundraiser
for Vernonia Cares Food Bank, was held on August 16th
which turned out to be one of the hottest days we have had
in 2008. Early on, the pavilion at Anderson Park was a
hive of activity with runners and walkers signing up for the
5K and 10K events. The 105 registered participants came
from Vernonia (20), Hillsboro, Forest Grove, Camas, War-
renton, Portland, and West Linn areas with some folks from
Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Colorado and
California. The turnout was double the number of partici-
pants from 2007 (which in turn was twice the number from
the year before.)
The 10K started promptly at 8:15AM, sending fifty-
two eager people west along the Linear Trail. Twelve minutes later fifty-three 5K partici-
pants were on their way east toward Vernonia Lake. By 10:00AM all runners and walkers
were safely returned to the Pavilion to enjoy rest and refreshments. A total of $2,700 was
raised by this event through event sponsorship and run registrations.
1st place medals for Male/Female 5K and 10K and 1st/2nd place medals for the 5K walk-
ers were then awarded. A raffle followed and folks seemed to go home happy…and ready to
return for the Aug 15th, 2009 event! Register on line: http://www.signmeup.com/61797
Results
Men’s 10K
1st Place: Chris Rifer, Portland, OR; 35:18
2nd Place: Kevin Filkowski, Longview, WA; 39:18
3rd Place: Joseph Moullet, Wood Village, OR; 44:28
Women’s 10K
1st Place: Kara Lorion, Hillsboro, OR; 52:00
2nd Place: Leah Henriksen, Forest Grove, OR; 52:18 (tied)
2nd Place: Bridget Cooke, Forest Grove, OR; 52:18 (tied)
Men’s 5K
1st Place: Sean Thoensen, Aurora, CO; 30:24
2nd Place: Adrian Taylor, Portland, OR; 30:25
3rd Place: Alex Grant, McMinnville, OR; 31:34
Women’s 5K
1st Place: Madeleine Zolfo, Fuquay Varina, NC; 31:41
2nd Place: Alisa Wise,Camas, WA; 35:21 (took 1st place in 2007)
3rd Place: Maureen Zolfo, Portland, OR; 37:00
5K walk – 1st and 2nd place went to a mother and daughter team again this year – Nancy
Johnson and Brandi Fennell from Vernonia with a time of 56:20.
A huge thanks to our volunteers who made the event day a success: Barb Ervin,
Terry Grosnick, Tobie Finzel, Sandy Welch, Shannon Aronhalt, Jeana Gump, Jesse
Jones, Deb Bergerson, Brett Costley, six local cheerleaders, Jim Aronhalt and daughter,
and Vernonia Voice’s Scott
Laird.
Sponsorship for the
event came from local
community
businesses
in cash donations for the
event and on the day cof-
fee and prizes (Black Bear
Coffee Co., Wal-Mart and
Jazzercise).
Come and sign up for
2009 as a participant, vol-
unteer to help with planning
and preparation or be a vol-
unteer for the event day.
Teresa Bernardi, Volunteer EMS
By Scott Laird
Firefighter, Emergency Medical Service and Citizen Emergency Response Team (CERT)
volunteers fill a crucial role in small rural communities. They spend many hours of their
time receiving their initial training and certification and then many more hours on re-
quired continuing training and education. They respond to our emergencies at all hours
of the day and night. Because we all have such busy schedules, and many local residents
commute out of town for work, our local departments sometimes have trouble filling vol-
unteer positions. In this series of articles, Vernonia’s Voice will profile some of our local
volunteers who sacrifice week in and week out to help keep our community safe.
Being a volunteer is often about helping and mak-
ing a difference. It’s about service to community
and about making the world a better place. But
it’s also important that the volunteer gets some
reward for his or her efforts and some kind of
personal satisfaction which may be different for
each individual. For Teresa Bernardi, her reward
is knowing that she has made a personal differ-
ence - a difference that might have meant life or
death for one of her neighbors.
Teresa Bernardi has been a volunteer with the
Vernonia Ambulance Association since 1999,
first as a driver, than as an EMT Basic and finally as one of only a few EMT Intermedi-
ates (who have important additional medical training) in the Vernonia Community. “It’s
a great feeling, knowing you just saved somebody or made someone more comfortable,”
says Bernardi.
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Ten years ago, Bernardi was looking for something to do in the community. Her chil-
dren were grown, and she wanted to be involved in something. Then she saw the sign
that said “Volunteers Wanted” for EMS and thought it might be a rewarding way to get
involved. She already had First Aid and CPR training, so it was a natural progression to
join the local ambulance crew.
“There is definitely a need,” said Bernardi about her decision to join. “I would feel ter-
rible if my grandmother was sick and there wasn’t anyone there to take care of her. So
I’m going to be there to help take care of someone else’s grandma.”
EMS volunteers in Vernonia assist a paid paramedic who is on duty twenty-four hours a
day. But during a multiple patient call or when two incidents occur at the same time, the
volunteers may be the highest trained medical personnel available. Local fire volunteers
usually assist at the scene of the emergency, and then the EMS crew is responsible for
transporting the patient to the hospital which can be almost an hour away.
“This is very rewarding, but it’s also not for everyone,” said Bernardi.
Being an EMT in a small community has unique challenges. “It can be a good thing
and a bad thing working in a small community because you know everyone,” she says.
“Going on a call when you know the person involved is really hard. I have also had the
experience of being able to talk with a patient I knew who knew me, and I was able to
get her to cooperate with us more. It can be very calming to have someone show up that
they know. ”
Bernardi suggests getting first aid and CPR training if a person is interested in getting
involved. “It can be a matter of life and death for someone. You never know when you
are going to need it.” They can also get certified as a first responder or consider joining
CERT which assists in major emergencies. “CERT is a great! They really fill a need, and
it’s another opportunity to serve. If nothing else, I just encourage people to watch out
for their neighbors.”