COMMUNITY
A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2019
Community shines with holiday giving
By TAMMY MALGESINI
COMMUNITY EDITOR
Giving has taken on epi-
demic proportions as area
individuals, organizations
and businesses found ways
to help brighten the holiday
season for others.
In addition to being the
recipients of good cheer
from bikers during the 15th
annual Echo Toy Run, Good
Shepherd Health Care Sys-
tem held the 12 Days of
Giving. Also, Tom Denchel
Ford Country cruised in
with Days of Christmas and
a local radio station pro-
vided a double shot to cof-
fee lovers.
Laundry bins were over-
flowing at Good Shepherd
earlier this month — how-
ever, the housekeeping
department wasn’t behind.
During the toy run, 110
motorcycles and five vehi-
cles delivered toys to the
Hermiston hospital, which
filled several of the large
containers.
Due to the generos-
ity of the leather-clad San-
tas, there were enough gifts
to share with Hermiston
Police Christmas Express,
said Kelly Sanders, Good
Shepherd’s vice president
of human resources. Also,
there are plenty to give to
kids throughout the year to
lift their spirits while at the
hospital.
Al Sells continues to
ensure his place on San-
ta’s “nice list” by coordi-
nating the effort, which was
started by former owners of
the Echo Saloon. The Stan-
field man calls it “the great-
est day of the year.”
Recently wrapping up
its 12 Days of Giving cam-
paign, Good Shepherd’s
goal was to collect 2,000
items, said Devin Goldman,
assistant quality manager.
The Nov. 26 to Dec. 7 effort
resulted in 3,617 items —
more than doubling what
was collected in the past
two years combined.
Everything from diapers,
non-perishable food items
and books to personal care
products, pet supplies and
clothing were distributed
to nearly a dozen organiza-
tions. Those benefiting from
the contributions include
Eastern Oregon Mission
(Agape House and Mar-
tha’s House), Domestic Vio-
lence Services, Clearview
Disability Resource Cen-
ter’s Medical Loan Closet,
Eastern Oregon Humane
Society-Pet Rescue, Uma-
tilla-Morrow Head Start’s
Women, Infants and Chil-
dren (WIC), Desert Rose
Ministries, iCan Bike,
Hermiston Warming Sta-
tion, Hermiston Police
Christmas Express, Stan-
field Food Basket and
friends of the library groups
in Hermiston, Umatilla and
Stanfield.
To encourage shopping
local, Tom Denchel gave
away gift cards to area
businesses.
Also, while revving up
Christmas cheer, the deal-
ership asked people to post
an animated photo on Face-
book reflecting their holiday
spirit — a sort of GIFs for
gift cards.
“It’s fantastic
to be able to
give back to our
community.”
Devin Goldman, of Good
Shepherd Health Care System
Saul Esquivel of Stan-
field received a handful of
gift cards as winner of the
final drawing. Other win-
ners were Lexi Gustafson,
Beth
Thelander-Darling-
ton, Amber Ruiz-Burleson,
Jamie Morales, Emilie
Stockton, Eilleen Leigh-
ton Moore, Stacy Armen-
trout
Skinner,
Timmy
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Nearly a dozen local nonprofit organizations benefited from the donation of 3,617 items during Good Shepherd Health Care
System’s 12 Days of Giving campaign.
Clark, Alyssa McLeod,
Shawn Lorraine, Johnnie
McQuilkin, Sheri Verley,
Amy Jo Young, Angelica
Torres, Shelly Wiederich,
Misty Gutierrez, Katie
Stahl, Casandra Whetsler,
Kandi Conerd and Randy
Akers.
Also, Hermiston resi-
dents Reina Stone and Rae-
chel Bennett will enjoy their
favorite coffee drinks thanks
to KOHU-KQFM. The give-
away brewed a lot of excite-
ment as nearly 100 people
revealed their favorite cof-
fee drink in hopes of win-
ning a full punch card from
Java Junkies in Umatilla.
Stone said her favorite
was a toss-up between one
with chocolate, caramel and
hazelnut; or one with white
chocolate, caramel, English
toffee and toasted marsh-
mallow. Bennett went with
the ‘Snickers’ with whip.
Whether it’s hot drinks
or warm hearts, the spirit
of giving is thriving in and
around Hermiston.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Several Good Shepherd Health Care System employees show off stuffed animals received
during the 15th annual Echo Toy Run.
BRIEFS
Wounded Warrior
placards available Jan. 1
Beginning Jan. 1, qual-
ifying
Oregon
veter-
ans can apply for the new
Oregon Wounded War-
rior parking placard from
the Oregon Department of
Transportation.
Those eligible must qual-
ify for a disabled park-
ing permit and have a ser-
vice-connected
disability
that is VA-rated at 50 per-
cent or greater. The Ore-
gon Wounded Warrior park-
ing placard, which is free,
exempts the driver from
paying fees in public park-
ing areas with metered park-
ing. For more information,
contact 503-945-5000, stop
by a DMV office or visit
www.oregondmv.com.
ESD encourages
recognizing teachers
Students, parents, school
staff and community mem-
bers are invited to recognize
the hard work of educators.
Nominations are now
open for the Regional
Teacher of the Year award.
Each education service dis-
trict in Oregon will select a
regional teacher, who will
receive a cash prize of $500.
One of the regional winners
will be named the 2020 Ore-
gon Teacher of the Year in
September 2019. Anyone
can nominate a teacher from
any Oregon school district.
“It’s great to have peo-
ple nominate teachers they
know and admire, so we
have a bigger pool of appli-
cants from which to choose
our recipient,” said Michele
Madril, director of commu-
nication at InterMountain
Education Service District.
To nominate someone,
visit
www.oregonteach-
eroftheyear.org. For more
information, contact Jenni
Knaus, program coordina-
tor, at jenni.knaus@state.
or.us.
Good Shepherd collects
coats for the homeless
The education depart-
ment at Good Shepherd
Health Care System is seek-
ing new or clean and gently
used winter coats.
During the annual “Point
in Time Count,” people
involved with the effort
will do more than tally how
many people they come in
contact with.
The annual counts are
conducted to help policy-
makers and program admin-
istrators track progress
toward the goal of ending
homelessness.
Coats need to be dropped
off by Monday, Jan. 28 in
the education department at
Good Shepherd, 610 N.W.
11th St., Hermiston.
For more information,
call 541-667-3509.
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