As we start our third year of our Celebration of Heroes recognition program, we are starting strong with some amazing individuals. It’s always awesome to hear about how these individuals will go above and beyond to make sure everyone feels safe and included in everyday life. We always encourage you to submit your HERO, so we can celebrate them alongside you.
Harvest Iverson Flournoy
Harvest raised funds and put together a sensory friendly move night in Chico and shared the experience with many other families. This all was motivated by her own desire to have her son experience a sensory friendly movie.
Jackie Campos
Jackie is the SELPA director for Glenn County Office of Education. She goes above and beyond to support the children in the Glenn county community through providing creative ways to meet their unique needs and always putting the children first. Jackie never says no when a child has a specific need, she will always figure out a way to provide the support. She will access specific therapies, pay for staff to be trained to provide the desired treatments. She has never told me no when I have asked for something a child needs. She will figure out a way to serve the students, and is open to creative solutions. Jackie has never looked for recognition; she does all of this because of her genuine belief that all children deserve an equal education and her love and respect for children and families.
Carrie Norris
Mrs. Norris is the new principal of Anderson Heights Elementary School. She just took over this school year and has implemented an inclusion month to help teach children about individuals with different abilities and/or disabilities and how to notice whether or not the school is accessible to all. She makes everyone feel welcome at her school.
Bethany Miles
Bethany is our new support specialist at Far Northern for our deaf and hard of hearing community. She personally drives to rural areas throughout our region that are in need of support. She is dedicated to the community she serves which includes young children all the way through the twilight years. Bethany deserves to be recognized for her advocacy hard work and dedication to the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Bethany’s advocacy for deaf and hard of hearing clients is breaking down barriers everyday, and she does it with so much respect and humility. She has opened the eyes of community members and Regional Center employees by bringing awareness to the challenges D&HH people, like herself, face everyday. She has brought a new line of communication to clients, helping both the caregivers and service coordinators to learn the client’s unmet needs. Bethany is a hero to many and a caring friend to all.
Plumas Rural Services DCM Team
The Disaster Case Management Team at PRS goes above and beyond to talk to community members from all walks of life. They do not discriminate whether working with a property owner, renter or homeless person. They work with many Federal, State, County and Community agencies to support fire survivors and help them move forward in recovery from the Dixie Fire. Everyday they see teamwork and including outside resources as the best way to serve their clients needs. I am very grateful to be working alongside a group of individuals from all walks of life. They have made it their mission to work together on one main goal and keep that goal held high so everyone in the county is benefitted.
Danny Morris
Danny was a service coordinator at FNRC for many years. He has been retired for a few years, but we continue to hear from his former clients about how he was the best service coordinator they ever had. Danny as the ability to work with everyone and anyone and always makes them laugh and feel that they are being listened to.
Sarah Reed
Sarah has dedicated her life to the people she works with and the Regional Center. Her many years of hard work deserve to be recognized!
Sarah Reed always sees the best in everyone. She will go out of her way to help others even though it in no way benefits her. I have personally benefited from Sarah’s kindness and overall good heart. She is not the type to take the easy way in life, but will climb uphill battles to help others have chances that would otherwise not be given to them. We need more people like Sarah in this world, it would be a far better place to live if we did.
Tayler Peck
It was hard to choose between Superhero and Everyday Hero because Tayler Peck is both. She is a super hero on a daily basis with the way she is constantly investigating what might be important to someone and assisting that person in advocating for themselves. Tayler is exceptionally supportive to the staff that she manages as well as to the people we support and their families. She creates an inclusive environment every day and everyone that meets her feels heard and empowered. She is truly a Superhero and deserves to be recognized for her never ending efforts with supporting people.
Kathy O’Donnell
Kathy has gone above and beyond in helping others with disabilities and challenges. She encourages and helps clients believe in themselves by giving them insight and skills thru the use of her non profit Rough Out Ranch!! She brings hope and healing wherever she goes!!!
Celeste Spencer
Celeste always goes above and beyond for her clients. Her clients LOVE her and it’s easy to see why. She is caring and connected. She knows her clients well and puts in the time and efforts to understand their needs and ensure that they are met. She has a knack for making the impossible, possible. She takes on very challenging situations and won’t take no for an answer, but instead will continue to creatively look for solutions. She has built a great rapport with our vendors, which has only helped her more efficiently deliver services to our clients and creatively solve problems with her team. She recently took on a very dire situation that would have overwhelmed many. Within a week, these clients lives and future have drastically changed due to her grit and stick-to-itiveness. They now have supports, safe housing in the works, and a community that has come along side Celeste to wrap them in supports.
She is thoughtful and makes her clients feel important. She has helped a client celebrate a retirement from the SCOC when it otherwise would not have been acknowledged. The list of things she has done like this are endless and most of the time go unnoticed, which is how she prefers. Quiet and humble in her service to others.
If I ever needed a service coordinator, I would want her to be it! She is truly a hero every day she is working with our clients who are lucky enough to land on her caseload.