For the Love of our Community Heroes 2021 - Winners Week 1

We Invite You to Follow Along Our 10 Week Campaign and Read All About Our Amazing Oregon Heroes!

Sunriver Resort's “For the Love of Community Heroes” campaign invites community members to privately nominate their Oregon hero. In appreciation, we are offering a complimentary two-night stay at Sunriver Resort for some well-earned time to relax & unwind, amidst all the beauty Central Oregon offers.10 winners are selected each week, for 10 weeks. Below are just a few of the stories that our nominees have allowed us to share, more stories to come. We invite you to follow along our 10 week campaign and read all about our amazing Oregon heroes!

JASON'S STORY
My husband is most definitely a community hero. Jason is one of the most hard working men I know. He is currently the Dean of Students at La Pine middle school and gives his heart to those students, staff and families. He created a program when he was working as a pizza delivery guy (one of his side jobs) where his students and their families could win a free dinner and have it delivered by him personally (Delivery by Dean Deaner). He constantly finds ways to form genuine connections with the students and also holds them accountable when needed. Currently, one of his other jobs is in the Coast Guard Reserve and he is about to go on a year long deployment for our country. His passion to serve his country runs deep and while he will be greatly missed by his wife and 3 kids, we truly respect and appreciate his sacrifice to serve our country. Jason is an incredible husband, a wonderful father and one of the most genuine people you will ever meet. Truly a hero to many and greatly deserving of such a wonderful gift.

Jason Deaner is a husband, father of three, and respected dean of students in Bend-La Pine School District who helped maneuver through COVID-19 impacts and facilitate new learning methods for students. Additionally, Jason is a reserve Coastguardsman with the US Coast Guard and will soon be deploying for a 1-year tour away from his family. A local stay-vacation at Sunriver Resort may be a perfect gift for the family before he leaves.

TYE'S STORY
Tye is a rehab director and physical therapist assistant at a skilled nursing facility in Gresham, OR. He’s had a long year fighting against COVID and trying to keep his patients and staff members safe. His patients are his number one priority. He’s been through two COVID outbreaks where every single patient ended up getting COVID and too many people passed away. He’s helped patients talk to their families on FaceTime and Zoom. Coordinated visits with loved ones through windows of patients rooms. Sat and talked with people to keep them company when they were lonely. Tye caught COVID himself in December and took several weeks to recover and missed having Christmas with his family. In summary, it’s been a tough, emotional and stressful year. And through it all Tye has never complained and has gone above and beyond to show how much he cares for his patients, who really become his family. Tye has a huge heart and all his coworkers and patients adore him. Tye hasn’t had a vacation since 2019 and could definitely use a break from the stress. He is the most deserving person I know and is my personal healthcare hero. I’m so proud of him.

ANTHONY'S STORY

Shortly after COVID arrived in Oregon, we realized a hotline was needed to serve our patients at OHSU, to serve all Oregonians, and to serve primary care teams across the state. Within hours of identifying this need, Dr. Anthony Cheng volunteered to be the medical director for what has become OHSU's Connected Care Center (1-833-OHSU-CCC). He has given countless hours of his time to plan, implement, and oversee this unique resource which receives hundreds of calls per day and has served hundreds of thousands of Oregonians since March 2020. This hotline saved lives by providing a resource for people who would have otherwise gone to emergency departments and hospitals across the state and spread COVID to healthcare workers and others at these sites as happened in Italy and New York City early in the pandemic. This hotline has received thanks from many grateful patients, has been highlighted in several news stories, and has been replicated in other parts of the country after being highlighted nationally by the Journal of the American Medical Association, read the article HERE.

TIMOTHY P'S STORY
Tim is a 26 year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau who continues after all these years to be a leader and a well regarded patrol officer within the Bureau. He is a father of two boys and over the last year has balanced being a full time single father with homeschooling his boys by day and working the protests and riots on the streets of Portland by night. Like many working parents, this past year hasn’t been an easy one. However, Tim’s profession within the PPB has put him under additional pressure with constant harassment on and off duty.The past year has been a difficult one for most and Tim is no different. However, this well respected and excellent Law Enforcement Officer has taken on more pressures than most by volunteering to work the frontlines every night (going home with bruised legs from things being thrown at him) while continuing to serve his community and uphold the oath he took so many years ago. One of Tim’s favorite places to visit and spend his free time is Sunriver and I know this tired officer and father could use a break.

JOSH P'S STORY
Josh is a deputy with the Lane County Sheriff's Office. He is on the front line protecting and serving his community. One date that will be remembered for a lifetime, September 7, 2020, was a tragic day for several families as the "Holiday Farm Fire" sparked near Blue River, OR and blew through McKenzie Bridge towards Springfield. Josh and I were woken up by our neighbor who is also married to a deputy to inform us that this was going on. Josh immediately offered his assistance and left our home at 1:30am on about 2 hours of sleep. He went door to door to wake families and get them out of their homes. It was a short time later that he text me how awful it was and that so many families will be displaced and that we should start packing because our home was in its path just north over the hill. It wasn't long later, we were evacuated. Despite us being evacuated from our own home, he continued to help other families in need. He continued to work 120+ hours that week to help others in need while we were displaced from our home ourselves. He was yelled at by other evacuees and continued to keep his composure and respect for others. He continues to amaze me with his generosity to help others who he doesn't even know. He is a doer and will also help a fellow deputy, friend, family no questions asked. He is also involved in search and rescue and on call for that multiple times per month. I am sure there is many more ways I can explain what a great job he does and sacrifices he makes for his community and being a deputy/LE officer is no small task. He is a great husband and father and works his butt off to support his family.