13th Annual Event Takes Place June 15
The American Red Cross of the Central Coast will be honoring a group of community members for their acts of courage or compassion, at the chapter’s 13th Annual Heroes Breakfast on Friday, June 15, in Aptos.
After careful consideration, a committee of local community leaders selected the 2018 Central Coast Hero Award recipients based on the degree to which their actions uphold the values of the Red Cross and have a positive impact on the residents of the Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties. The following is a list of the 13 heroes who will be honored at this year’s breakfast.
- Animal Rescue Hero: Darla Smith
- Disaster Services Heroes: James Gruber and Paul Guzman
- Education Hero: Mary Gaukel Forster
- Environment Hero: Shelby O’Neil
- First Responder Heroes: Dan Perry, Forest Gleitsman, Ziad Bawarshi
- Humanitarian Hero – Adult: Jessica Berg
- Humanitarian Hero – Youth: Matthew Gibbs
- International Services Hero: Tammy Renfer
- Medical Hero: Arthur Dover, M.D.
- Service to Armed Forces Hero: Angel Hernandez
The Heroes Breakfast on June 15 will take place at Twin Lakes Church, located at 2701 Cabrillo College Drive. Doors will open at 8 a.m. that day, and the program will run from 8:30 until 10 a.m. Tickets are still available for the event.
The annual breakfast is a community event that supports the lifesaving programs and emergency services the local Red Cross chapter provides for the nearly 750,000 residents of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties. To purchase tickets to the breakfast, please go to:
redcross.org/centralcoastheroes. To help with sponsorships or if you have other questions about the event, please call 831-626-5255.
•••
2018 Central Coast Red Cross Honorees
Animal Rescue Hero
Darla Smith, Salinas
Darla Smith serves on the board of the Animal Friends Rescue Project and is on the Advisory Committee for Salinas Animal Services. Over the past 10 years, Darla has rescued more than 500 puppies, taking the time to nurture them through long days and nights of bottle feedings and find them their “forever” homes.
Disaster Services Heroes
James Gruber, Salinas, and Paul Guzman, Soledad
Two workers assigned to the Pajaro River during a recent stormy night ended up rescuing residents from a fire, not a flood.
When pulling up to the Main Street bridge levee in Watsonville at 4 a.m., James Gruber and Paul Guzman saw smoke coming from the roof of a building near San Juan Road. As the fire spread, James and Paul acted as first responders, entering burning structures, alerting people to the danger, and rushing many out to the street and safety. They also rescued nine dogs.
Education Hero
Mary Gaukel Forster, Capitola
After her more than 40 years as an educator and administrator, in “retirement,” Mary is the Executive Director of Your Future is Our Business, an organization that links local and regional employers with Santa Cruz County schools and, in the process, improves students’ employment prospects.
She is also involved with the Transition Age Youth Program for the local Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) organization, the Youth Violence Prevention Taskforce, and Santa Cruz County’s 5-year Alcohol and Drug Prevention Program.
Environment Hero
Shelby O’Neil, San Juan Bautista
Shelby O’Neil, just 17, has spent hundreds of hours volunteering for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, With this knowledge, the San Juan Bautista resident for her Girl Scout Gold Award Project, formed the non-profit Jr Ocean Guardians, which recruits other teens to educate youth. The Ambassadors also host beach clean-up events.
First Responder Heroes
Dan Perry, Capitola • Forest Gleitsman, Corralitos • Ziad Bawarshi, Davenport
On a winter afternoon, a 9-1-1 call was received. A surfer was in distress about 500 yards off shore at Davenport Landing Beach. When CalFire, AMR ambulance service, Santa Cruz City Fire, and State Lifeguards arrived on scene, conditions were extreme, with 12- to 15-foot-high surf.
State Lifeguards Dan Perry, Forest Gleitsman and Ziad Bawarshi paddled out to make contact with the surfer. The three lifeguards worked as a team to get the surfer safely back to the beach before darkness.
Humanitarian Hero – Adult
Jessica Berg, Aptos
On a dark, rainy January night, Jessica Berg was having a dinner break from her job at the Santa Cruz Harbor’s Crow’s Nest Restaurant. From a second-story kitchen window, the waitress saw a car rolling down the boat ramp and in seconds, the car was completely underwater. Jessica saw that two people were trapped in the vehicle.
She initiated a 911 call and alerted others at the restaurant. Employees ran to the boat launch ramp and pulled a man and woman — both in their 50s — out of the submerged car. With Jessica’s quick thinking, the vehicle’s occupants survived.
Humanitarian Hero – Youth
Matthew Gibbs, Monterey
Matthew Gibbs, just 18, is the founder of an organization called Athletes That Care which provides sandwiches, clothing, and other items to the homeless of Monterey. Since 2015, he and his group have delivered nearly 4,600 sandwiches; hundreds of bottles of water, snacks, waterproof tarps; and many items of clothing to the homeless.
Matthew funds the organization by collecting bottles and cans and recycling them. He has also organized and raised money to host a Super Bowl party for the homeless and disabled in Monterey.
International Services Hero
Tammy Renfer, Salinas
Tammy Renfer had worked at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System for 10 years in the Employee Health Department when she joined a team of volunteers for a mercy mission to war-torn South Sudan.
During the eight-day trip, she helped families and children, with their medical needs. Tammy and other volunteers erected pop-up clinics near villages that had little or no access to medical care or supplies. She and the volunteer group saw 1,100 people while in South Sudan. Tammy’s goal now is taking such a trip twice a year.
Medical Hero
Arthur Dover, M.D., Watsonville
Fresh from medical school in 1969, Dr. Arthur Dover worked for the Centers for Disease Control’s Epidemic Intelligence Service. Then from 1975 to 2009 he operated a local pediatrics practice in Freedom and has a reputation as a pediatrician for children of migrant workers.
After 34 years, he returned to disease control administering immunizations for overseas travel to patients at his Aptos office. Dr. Dover has also taken 20 medical mission trips to foreign countries, providing surgical support for children to repair cleft lips and palates.
Service to Armed Forces Hero
Angel Hernandez, Salinas
Consistent with the principle of self-sacrifice, Sergeant Angel Hernandez has helped others, even when his own life at risk. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his convoy was ambushed by a blast that killed his driver, severely injured his Platoon Sergeant and left Sgt. Hernandez with shrapnel injuries After receiving a Purple Heart, Sgt. Hernandez was deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom.
After his military discharge, began working at Salinas Valley State Prison. When he learned that a coworker was suffering from kidney failure, Sgt. Hernandez volunteered to be tested. He was a perfect kidney donation match and the operation, which took place last August, was a complete success.
•••
American Red Cross of the Central Coast has offices in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties. For more information, visit our web site at redcross.org/centralcoast or call us at 1-831-624-6921. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.