Julie Mackin becomes a hero - trades nuclear medicine for career with kids

As a young woman in the 1970s, Julie Mackin wanted to make it in a man’s world and make lots of money doing it.

“I wanted to do it all; I wasn’t going to let anything stop me,” she said. “I was running marathons back when women weren’t.”

A radical change to her career path, though, and the lives she’s changed since earned Mackin the title of 2008 Green Bay Press-Gazette Everyday Hero in the category of education. Everyday Heroes are people whose deeds make Northeastern Wisconsin a better place to live.

Mackin was a nuclear medicine technologist at St. Vincent Hospital and said she was succeeding in a male-dominated career.

She was never one to ooh and ahh about babies, but when a little girl with Down syndrome came in for tests, Mackin felt at home working with her when another tech hesitated.

Mackin believes that event foreshadowed the midlife change in her career path. Today, she teaches special needs students at Franklin Middle School in Green Bay, and her focus shifted from making cash to making a difference.

The transformation began when Mackin married her husband, Mike, and had children. After her first child was born, she went back to work, and intended to do so after the second.

“Our second (Marnie) was special needs, and I thought I’d be able to go back to work, but after three months I realized that wouldn’t work,” Mackin said. Marnie, now 21, had health problems and needed to be in a full body cast for about eight months. Mackin left the hospital to care for her daughters, and then had a son and another daughter. Ten years later she went back to the hospital, but found her heart wasn’t in it.

“I wanted to do something with kids,” she said. “I found myself wanting to do something to make a difference.”

So she became a part-time paraprofessional working with special education students for the Green Bay School District. Two years later, she signed up for education courses at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

“It’s hard to make a change,” she said. “I was terribly afraid.”

Completing undergrad courses and achieving a master’s degree took about 10 years, she said. She’s now certified to teach special education.

Now she wouldn’t have it any other way. She considers her students her family, and admits she spends a lot of home time thinking about her second set of “kids.”

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Police officer recognized as Oregon’s 2008 hero

Police officer Ernie Happala recently was named one of Oregon’s 2008 Everyday Heroes by the Governor’s Commission on Senior Services, and he was honored in Salem along with 11 other individuals, a bank and a Portland fire station.

The commission created the heroes’ campaign to raise awareness of elder abuse, increase reporting, reduce tolerance of elder abuse, and find ways to connect individuals and families to community resources.

At the ceremony, Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers said, “The Oregonians we are honoring today noticed something that was consistent with elder abuse, they did something about it, and their actions kept someone safe or minimized the harm that was done.

“They set an example for all of us of what needs to be done to keep Oregon seniors safe in their communities.”

Janet Martin, who is a Washington County Adult Protective Services specialist, nominated Happala after he assisted her with a case of elder financial abuse last summer. Although the crime occurred in another jurisdiction, the police force there would not take a report because the victim lived in King City.

Martin lauded Happala for working with her to get the case referred for prosecution.

“This was a difficult case to investigate due to the victim’s cognitive challenges, the alleged perpetrator’s relationship to the victim and a great deal of resistance from the victim’s bank in providing necessary documentation,” Martin stated in her nomination.

“Office Happala never gave up and provided the legal assistance necessary to obtain the evidence needed,” she added.

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More than a coach - Marty Biegel

He is frail now. The years have taken their toll on legs that once pounded and paced the sidelines of Fairfax High’s gleaming basketball court. On a recent Sunday, the slight Jewish man in the red wind-breaker and baseball cap reading “Coach” shuffled with a cane into Canter’s Delicatessen.

Marty Biegel, 86, was heading for a table across the room, and when he got there a group of tall black men rose to cheer:

Biegel, the father figure who helped raise them.

Biegel, the wizard who turned them into champions.

Biegel, the bridge-builder between blacks and whites.

“What’s up, Mr. B?” they said one after another, lining up to give him bear hugs.

“You’re looking good, fellas,” Marty shot back, beaming up at them. “What the hell happened to your Afros?”

Once again, Marty Biegel was back with his boys.

A story that began in angry debates over school desegregation in Los Angeles continues as a love affair today, between a teacher and the players whose lives he changed.

Nearly 40 years ago, in 1969, Biegel took over the basketball coaching job at Fairfax High School. He was a pint-sized scrapper from New York, a history teacher with a heart of gold and no illusions about his new post: The mostly white, Jewish school near Hollywood was strong academically, but pitiful in sports. The chess team won medals. The football players? Don’t ask.

Then Biegel got a gift — a product of good timing, an earthquake and decades of agitation for civil rights.

In 1968, school district boundaries were redrawn, allowing black students living south of Pico Boulevard to attend the school at Melrose and Fairfax avenues. Its numbers grew from 35 to 1,000 in four years, and Fairfax became one of the few city schools to achieve racial balance on its own, without a court order.

Much of Los Angeles fretted when blacks began appearing in white schools during the 1970s. Not Biegel.

He celebrated the new black athletes in his gym — players who could go to the basket with either hand and leap high above the rim. An orthodox Jew, he’d look heavenward and murmur a prayer.

“We’re winners!” he would crow. “We can take anybody!”

Full Story from the Los Angeles Times

Related Links: Marty Biegel - So Cal Jewish Sports Hall of Fame

Zinhle Thabethe - raising AIDS awareness

Why is Zinhle Thabethe an Everyday Hero?

Zinhle Thabethe is a positive person. She is HIV-positive yes, but she is also positive that HIV is yet another challenge that South Africa can beat.

She likens the challenge to that of apartheid and how South Africans came together and rallied around the cause to bring down a regime that was determined to destroy us. But it didn’t. It made us stronger. And that’s what Zinhle believes can and should happen around HIV.

Zinhle is not a doctor or scientist; in fact she has very little formal education. But she knows HIV and is determined to empower other people with this knowledge.

Why? Because she believes that all she needs is a moment to clarify and simplify and unpack the issues that are scary to people. Because fear and ignorance are still two of the most dangerous attributes of the disease.
In her own words …

“We should all be aids activists, because there is a thin line between being positive and being negative. You never know what may happen in the future.”

Fast Facts:

• Zinhle grew up in Umlazi township.
• She is one of the lead vocalists in the Sinikithemba Choir, an internationally acclaimed HIV-positive vocal ensemble. Its name translates to “we give hope.” The choir originated with patients from a support group at the Sinikithemba Center, a clinic that provided care even before Aids treatment was available.
• Zinhle works as a deputy director for iTeach, an HIV/Aids-focused educational and solution-seeking program.
• Zinhle is the only South African to be named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer. She is one of 10 other visionaries from all over the world who have been recognised for their contributions to world knowledge through exploration.

Source: Mathaba.net

Neighbor’s save family from fire

The Sheffield family, who were all asleep when flames started to cut through their home in the Long Point community Tuesday. Nobody was injured but the home will have to be completely rebuilt.

“We were just lucky and thankful that we were able to be in the right position at the right time,” added Mark Dunston.

Highschool principal is a hometown hero

The Rev. F. William Etheredge, principal of Aurora Central Catholic High School, will be presented with the Hometown Hero Award by Mayor Tom Weisner during halftime of the school’s varsity basketball game on Friday.

The Chargers will face St. Edward Central Catholic High School of Elgin at 7:30 p.m. at home.

“Father Etheredge works diligently for the spiritual and academic development of children and young adults,” Weisner said.

“He consistently demonstrates his faith with kindness and humility, and generally embodies the traits we all strive to inspire in our young people.”

The city presents Hometown Hero Awards to recognize an individual’s contributions to Aurora.

Etheredge also serves as superintendent of the Catholic schools in the Aurora deanery.

Before his Aurora assignment, he was an associate pastor in both DeKalb and Rockford and an assistant principal of Boylan Central Catholic High School in Rockford. He graduated from West Aurora High School and then entered Waubonsee Community College, where his father, the late Sen. Forest D. Etheredge, was the college’s president. His mother is Joan Etheredge.

Rev. Etheredge went on to Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., before attending Gregorian University at the North American College in Rome.

Both Etheredge and Aurora Central Catholic are celebrating milestones in 2008. Etheredge was ordained to the Catholic priesthood 25 years ago, and Aurora Central Catholic is celebrating its 40th anniversary following the consolidation of Aurora’s Madonna and Roncalli high schools in 1968.

The Beacon News

2008 CNN Heroes airs Thanksgiving night

Singer Christina Aguilera joins fellow Grammy Award winners Alicia Keys and John Legend for “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” airing Thanksgiving night on CNN.

The show, taped before an audience of more than 2,000 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, pays tribute to the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2008.

Liz McCartney, dedicated to helping survivors of Hurricane Katrina rebuild their homes, has been named the 2008 CNN Hero of the Year.

McCartney, of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, received the honor at Saturday night’s taping of “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.” The telecast airs at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Thanksgiving on the global networks of CNN.

McCartney, who will receive $100,000 to continue her work just outside New Orleans, was selected from among the top 10 CNN Heroes after six weeks of online voting at CNN.com. More than 1 million votes were cast.

“To the country and the world, I ask you to please join us,” McCartney said. “Together we can continue to rebuild families’ homes and lives. … If you join us, we’ll be unstoppable.”

Hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” features moving musical performances by Aguilera, Keys and Legend.

A young man with a big heart

He is just a young boy, but he is looking out for those around him.

He is not old enough to get a job, but he is willing to give up his allowance to feed a homeless man on the side of the road.

Ayden Hobbs of Whitehouse has a heart of gold.

As Kelly Hobbs talked with her son Ayden about his upcoming birthday party, she asked him about an idea that he was quick to say yes to. The idea was to ask his friends and family to bring items for the food pantry in Troup when they came to his party rather than gifts for him.

When asked why it is important to help people in need, Ayden responded, “Because Jesus tells us to.”

Ayden is very familiar with how the food pantry in Troup works. He has spent many hours there himself, along with his dad Blake, helping his “Gigi,” LaDelle Tuley, and the other faithful volunteers stacking cans, emptying boxes and cleaning.

His mother Kelly says it is like a passion for him to help the hungry.

One day as they came to an intersection in Tyler, Ayden spotted a man standing at the corner with a sign. He asked his mother about it. What did that sign say and why was he just standing there? She explained that his sign was that he was homeless and wanted to work for food. Ayden insisted that they get the man some lunch and take it to him. They did.

KLTV will air a segment about Ayden naming him an Everyday Hero.

Read Full Story - Whitehouse youth named Everyday Hero

Wednesday Hero - Ann Dunwoody

Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody
55 years old from Fort Belvoir, Virginia

Call it breaking the brass ceiling. Ann E. Dunwoody, after 33 years in the Army, ascended Friday to a peak never before reached by a woman in the U.S. military: four-star general.

At an emotional promotion ceremony, Dunwoody looked back on her years in uniform, said it was a credit to the Army—and a great surprise to her—that she would make history in a male-dominated military.

“Thirty-three years after I took the oath as a second lieutenant, I have to tell you this is not exactly how I envisioned my life unfolding,” she told a standing-room-only auditorium. “Even as a young kid, all I ever wanted to do was teach physical education and raise a family.

“It was clear to me that my Army experience was just going to be a two-year detour en route to my fitness profession,” she added. “So when asked, `Ann, did you ever think you were going to be a general officer, to say nothing about a four-star?’ I say, `Not in my wildest dreams.’

“There is no one more surprised than I—except, of course, my husband. You know what they say, `Behind every successful woman there is an astonished man.’”

You can read the rest of Gen. Dunwoody’s story here.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

From gang member to Youth of the Year

Manuel Contreras loved to fight, to street brawl.

He was running with a gang from a tough neighborhood in south Redwood City. “Manny Lokz” was his nickname.

“I was one crazy dude,” said Contreras, 19, showing a compact, boxer’s build and close-shaven head.

He had been in and out of juvenile hall and kicked out of several schools when his probation officer gave him a deal: Do community service at the local Boys & Girls Club or spend more time in lockup.

Contreras took the deal and has found a different gang to run with — one that has inspired him to change his attitude and outlook on life.

Instead of searching for fights, he’s looking out for young children and helping them with homework and other needs at the club.

Since first walking into the club about three years ago, he has earned his diploma from an alternative high school, won scholarships and attended Cañada College.

His turnaround has brought him the club’s Youth of the Year award and a commendation from the San Mateo County Board of Education.

“I like to have fun in a good way, not the old way,” said Contreras, who works at the club as a social education assistant. “Here I can just be me. I have a big smile on my face. Here I can help.”

Read Full Story - Part of a new, helping crew

Related Links:

• Boys & Girls Club of America
• Boys & Girls Club Facebook
• The Readers Digest donates $1M to Boys & Girls Club of America
• Be Great! - watch the video (below)

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