When we asked you to share stories of everyday heroes during these tough times of the COVID-19 outbreak, you delivered beyond our expectations.
We wanted to know stories of how these heroes are helping all of us stay together socially, mentally and emotionally — even while remaining physically apart.
Now, we’re sharing the news of your “Daily Hero” with everyone in north central Ohio through Richland Source, Ashland Source and Knox Pages.
We’ll be updating this list every day with new stories of your heroes. Use the form below to submit a story you’d like to recognize:
The nurses and staff in the Ohio Health Infusion Clinic. The are working with a fragile and mostly elderly population. They are always up beat and full of fun. Work well together and are looking out for their patients. – Anonymous
Audrey – I don’t know her last name but Audrey is an 89-year-old lady who lives in my father’s assisted living community. My dad (age 88) texted me Sunday to inform me that Audrey was making the rounds of the facility serenading the residents (from their outside steps) with church hymns played on her harmonica. (She played “Amazing Grace” outside his place.) When you consider that many in their age group are simply not computer savvy enough to connect with their church’s online services the generosity of her efforts becomes even more heartwarming. This world needs more Audreys. – Robert Turner
Dan Zeiker and Matt Tramel bring encouragement during the week and live stream since can’t go church help our neighbors and this will pass listen orders been misplaced. – Vicki Ratliff
My hero is my daughter, Jodi Lynn Frazee. Jodi is the Infection Control Nurse & Assistant Director of Nursing at a Long Term Care Facility. Jodi has always, from the time she was an STNA, believed in treating her patients as she would want her family treated. She is also a “hands on” nurse … and will jump in to help with STNA work as quickly as helping with nursing care.
Everyday during this COVID19 pandemic Jodi goes to work. She always has a smile on her face, is singing a song, or has a funny story to tell. Her goal is to leave you feeling better than when she walked in the door. She knows there is always a chance she could be bringing the virus home to her own family. A family she loves very much. She has a husband, 16 year old stepdaughter, 11 year old son & 10 year old daughter. But, Jodi loves her patients & coworkers too. So everyday she shows up to do her best for them. Giving 100% of herself to others…doing her best to keep them happy, healthy & safe. That is why Jodi Lynn is her Momma’s Hero. – Tammy Shearn
Mike Goschinski CEO and President of Fin Feather Fur Outfitters. After starting a business in Ashland county, raising his son inside the store for the first six years, and making countless dedications to the city of Ashland, and surrounding areas, he made a selfless decision to close his store amid the Covid-19 pandemic, to assist protecting his co-workers health. – Anonymous
Mine would be a younger friend who I won’t name here, but he has offered to grocery shop and deliver for me and will not take a dime. I do give him some of my homemade biscotti. He told me he makes more than enough money for he and his family. There are kind people out there, and I am grateful. – Nancy Wasen
Mine would be Hillsdale Middle School guidance counselor Kelly Syrowski Hohler. She has been so proactive in reaching out to our littlest one that miss our therapy dog Lucy and to our seniors that are missing making more memories. – Vella King
My sons Jeff, Chad, and Justin working as essential workers every day. So proud of them. – Jill VanDyne
My brother Mike and my husband Pat are my heroes. Mike manages an essential business and does a wonderful job keeping his employees and customers safe. He also calls his senior family members and encourages us, giving advice, information and makes us laugh. Mike is always a great brother, but he has been exceptional during this crisis. Pat is comforting , encouraging, and loving. As a senior with health issues, I appreciate all those checking on me with the phone visits while I do my part by staying home and not catching this awful virus. I just realized You are all my heroes. – Robin Sheriff Wilt
I have a couple heroes, Mary Powell and her husband Steve for letting me work with them when my job was shut down. I believe there are so many heroes out there right now, I’ve seen so many positive and wonderful things going on in the midst of all of this craziness. – Kathy Rulz
Shirley Massie-Bixby. Director of Nursing Ashland County, working around the clock every day.– Jon Bixby
My hero is my Son Lee Burley because he takes care of us. – Rose Burley
My niece Kim Sloan and nephew John Sloan. They are traveling nurses and are currently in Southern Georgia a hot spot. They help those in ICU without regard that they are constantly around the virus. – Betty Neighbarger
My therapist who is willing to to teletherapy sessions. – Amy Rubenson Jerabek
My two daughters Wendy and donell helping us out they call to see if we need anything – Cheryl Stinemetz-Bird
All of the social service agencies working to ensure that they still are providing necessary services in our community. – Angela Woodward
My coworkers, adult case managers and our supervisor Michael from Appleseed – Cindy Bunn
All of my neighbors. They check on us and make sure we are ok. – Vicky Forbush
My daughter June Morris. She is here for me. – Faye Roland
A friend, his wife is currently in the hospital and he can’t see her like he has been doing every day since their accident. This man is a true hero. indomitable spirit. – Ben Balducci
My Doctor, her staff in her office always have a smile on their face. – Ann Marquette
The volunteers who are keeping the St. Edward Hunger Center open for those who need a free meal on Wednesday evenings. – Judy Klobutcher
My children’s teachers and Mrs. Brodie at Reagan Elementary. They have been absolutely amazing. Talking to the kids, video chatting, doing interactive book reading, and checking in frequently to make sure the kids are ok. They have helped to keep our kids calm in the face of a lot of fear and uncertainty and brought smiles to their faces. – Julie Kumpik
I can’t really pick just one person. I must say that everyone non essential and essential workers are all hero’s in my eyes. Stay safe everyone. We’re in this and we will get through this TOGETHER as one. God bless. – Cynthia Kyser
My husband does construction and considered essential. He is still working to provide for us. He makes that sacrifice for us. My kids for being happy and being them and going along with this whole shift in “normal” with no complaints. Bless everyone out there right now. Stay safe. – April Strickler
My hero is my 14-yr-old son, Christopher Paterson. Our family lives altogether in half the basement of the home we’re renovating, and yet he navigates this season of “physical distancing” without complaint. He’s keeping up with his homework, and helping his younger brother tackle his, (while Dad cares for the details of the church he pastors, & Mom helps run The StoreHouse Discount Grocery.) Tomorrow was to have been opening night of his starring role in LHS’s “Shrek The Musical”, but again – no complaints. Just so proud of how this young man is managing this season, redeeming the time, & literally making it possible for our family to continue functioning. – Bethany Paterson
My husband works in a chemical factory that makes latex and other essential things used in disinfectant wipes, latex gloves, medical tubing ect. because his company makes this they have had to work and will probably continue to work seven days a week anywhere from 8-16 hours a day with no days off until this is over. – Kelly Bohland
The teachers and staff at McMullen Elementary! Mrs. Gorrell has been doing openings every morning this week. My boy’s teachers have been in contact daily with either myself or the boys directly. Mrs. Spenser has sent link after link for supplemental educational tools. Mrs. Thompson CALLED my kindergartener. Feeling so very supported. – Jean Coleman
Linda Turske. The costume designer at the Renaissance Theatre is tirelessly making cloth masks for her friends, family and for medical centers. I think some people are picking them up to drop off to medical facilities. She has worked tirelessly and communication via Facebook for drop offs, pick ups. Yesterday she had 94 orders. Today she typically works on making 40-44. She is saying a little prayer for each one she makes and the person she gives it to. She is the kindest woman I know and a light in my life. (And she makes some pretty amazing costumes for us actors!) – Leah
Jodie Perry, Chamber President. Her regular posts to businesses in Richland County are filled with useful information. But more than that, she offers a hopeful and inspiring vision of how we will get through this shadow and back into the light. – Reed Richmond
My mom, Teresa, for stepping up as a nursing home STNA and working a lot of overtime to make sure her residents are taken care of! I love you and all that you do! – Brittainy Wenrich
Braxton Daniels stepped up and helped build e-mansfield.com in just a few days. With strained communications he’s diligently working with local small businesses to help them get the word out and support local companies through this difficult time. He’s full of positive energy and enthusiasm even in the face of uncertainty. – Tracy Graziani
Lisa Stone has been working tirelessly sharing, tagging, commenting and helping small business owners and consumers in the e-Mansfield community which has grown to over one thousand members in just a few days. Her constant dedication to being a positive, helpful, and encouraging person, even now in the face of adversity is simply inspiring. – Tracy Graziani
Angie Henke, Jason Kaye, and Jeremy Ward are daily heroes even on an average Tuesday in August when there’s not much else going on. They are responsible for keeping the Harker St. Warming House for homeless men and a couple other places through Reaching Out ministries. They do an incredible service for the community with no government funding. I am so impressed with all that they do that makes a difference to so many people, both to those who are receiving the services and for those who are able to donate time/money/items to them. – Anonymous
While most of us are staying safe inside our homes, delivery personnel are still out and about. My dad is battling cancer. He still needs his medicine and care equipment, and we still get it thanks to them. They are my heroes. – Katie Ellington
My fiancé, Frank Velez III, who is a manager of the IGA in West Salem is my daily hero. Since the virus has hit our state, Frank has been putting in his normal 8 hours and then some everyday to insure his community will have the food and paper products needed for his store. After news broke from our governor of the stay at home order, Frank spent hours on his phone during his off hours to find masks for all his employees. Also during his off hours, Frank has been planning and setting the steps in place that his store will need to take during this order to protect not only the workers but the community. Frank never complains during any of this and feels proud to be able to help in this fight against COVID19. He has always been my daily hero but it’s truly come to even more light during these times. So please everyone keep those grocery store workers in mind when we want to flock to these stores. Go in when it’s needed and remember those workers have loved ones to return to. Thank you! – Alissa
It isn’t hard to find heroes during times of crisis; first responders and medical professionals provide inspiring examples every day. But I think that Arthur Ashe’s definition of heroism is about perfect when it comes to less visible heroes; there are many quiet, nearly anonymous heroes in our community. I especially admire those who dedicate themselves to the care of those who have no voice during this terrible time. My hero is Linda Chambers, Managing Director of the Humane Society of Richland County. The abandoned and abused animals in our community may not be as much on our minds as we read the headlines — but they are still there, and still in need. Ms. Chambers has committed to the welfare of these poor animals —and remains dedicated to the welfare of HSRC’s Shelter employees as well. Through hours of hard work, exhaustive planning and an intense focus on the effective management of the Society, she is quietly assuring that neglected dogs and cats will be fed and cared for — now and in the future. We are truly all in this together. – David Harmon
I am sick and stuck at home with either flu or COVID-19. Katie Macke, a Realtor at Carriage Trade Realty,in Columbus, Ohio is bundling up up in protective gear and bringing homemade soup, clean sheets and grocery, medicine and pharmacy runs for myself and others. I let her push these items thru an open window I had disinfected earlier. – Anonymous
My coworker knows I have an immune issue and so he reached out and asked if he could drop off groceries for me. I got tears in my eyes when I saw the message. He dropped off the items later in the day. Jon is in Allegheny County. Pittsburgh. – Monica LeSage
My wife she works with people on a daily basis she also does a lot for our family she loves the work she does – Mike Schaade
My husband Alan took action when news media suggested displaying Christmas decorations to spread cheer to neighbors and give parents the chance to help children through this hard time. – Mary Castor
My daily heroes are several groups of people. Jobs that are typically looked down upon or seen as dead end or low skill occupations are suddenly front and center with a situation like this. Janitorial services are essential to disinfect and clean an area to assure the safety of others. Truck drivers and warehouse employees are essential parts of the supply infrastructure. Stockers and store employees are working hard to meet the demand of the public. Restaurant employees work to keep people fed. Garbage collection continues to keep us sanitary and the mail continues of course as well. Of course in our times of need like this we typically look to those in the medical field, emergency services, and our leadership. But I feel these folks definitely deserve their own recognition due to their now essential impact or their services allowing us to feel a level of comfort that our society will make it through this and continue forth when the threat has passed. Incidents such as these show that no matter what your job title may be – you have an important piece in the integrity of our nation. We are all a part of that chain. – Ryan Ryder
The baristas at Starbucks in Mt. Vernon. They are always there smiling and it makes the bad days feel a little brighter. They often get over looked but they’re keeping some normalcy for our medical professionals, police officers and firefighters during this abnormal time. – Anonymous
Who is my daily hero? My daily heroes are the medical staff I work with who are at work daily and still manage to give our patients the best care possible during this crisis. A lot of us face our own challenges but still put a smile on our faces and work as a team! – Anonymous
On the Nextdoordigest.com site for my Ontario neighborhood I noticed that Jim Smith from Buckeye Village offered to help others. He was reaching out to those in need with a reminder for us to check on the elderly. I was impressed that he offered aid to anyone wanting assistance without prompting. – Anonymous
Vivian Winters runs People Helping People in Downtown Mansfield on Bowman Street. Amid the outbreak, she still continues to provide meals to those in need and is taking precautions to keep everyone safe, healthy, and also fed. She runs this rain or shine, in 100 degrees or -20 degrees. – Ashleigh Karl
