Introductions of the 2011 Nominees

Our first nominee, Dan Tilson, started off with the Glide Volunteer Fire Department in 1985 as basic firefighter. 26 years later, he has moved up through the ranks and is our Fire Chief.

Dan truly wants Glide Fire Department and its volunteers to be "the best" in providing fire protection and emergency medical services for our community. His commitment to fire and life safety in Glide is unmistakable. 26 years of Monday evening drills and hundreds of emergency calls every year, at all times of day and night, add up to tens of thousands of hours of volunteer service – truly an amazing commitment. We all thank you, Dan, for your dedication to our welfare.

Wherever there is a need for help, Kitty Davis is there. She might be visiting a housebound senior or
cooking someone a meal.  If someone is sick, she might be bringing medicine or groceries; if someone is
recovering from surgery, she’ll be helping them with their prescribed exercises.

She tends neglected gardens, neglected kitties, neglected people. She loves to give gifts, sometimes an artistically fashioned creation, but most often the gift of her time and caring. She is one of our community’s quiet angels. Kitty, thank you for all that you do for this community.

Our next nominee is never lost, and neither are the Scouts when they follow his directions to deliver Christmas food boxes. Dick Kreger has been a key member of the planning team for the Scout’s holiday food program since 1998. He manages the miracle of delivering food boxes to almost 200 households from Dixonville to Diamond Lake in about 4 hours.

He’s also a key volunteer every week at Helping Hands food pantry, where he runs the warehouse and the wood program, trains students who volunteer at the pantry, and worked on last year’s building expansion.

In his spare time, he’s been on the sewer board for 4 years, and he volunteers at UCAN and ODF&W. Dick, we all thank you for your devotion to our community.

It is hard to name an event in Glide that Susan Flury has not helped with – especially if it has anything to do with our kids. If there is a fundraiser for the band, the Booster Club, the graduating seniors, she’ll be there. At community garage sales, craft fairs, talent shows, and bingo nights, she’s been there.

And if food is involved, she’s cooking or baking: for a district wrestling team breakfast, a Halloween or Christmas party, or for an auction where her pie will go for top dollar!

She can take the heat outside the kitchen, too: For the last 6 years she has stepped up to provide leadership to the Glide Community Club when no one else was willing to take the thankless job of president, and she has worked hard to secure grants to preserve and upgrade this building, which is so important to our community. Thank you, Susan, for caring so much about our community for so many years.

Our next nominee is also a leader and organizer as well as a behind-the-scenes mover and shaker.  Brad Hatley believes in giving kids opportunities. He served for six years on the Glide School Board -- 2 of them as chairman -- and 3 years on the district’s budget committee.

For many years he has been deeply involved with the 4-H and FFA programs, which he believes teach kids not just about animals but also critical life skills. Both the county 4-H program and the state FFA have honored him with special awards for significant contributions. In 2002, he helped start the FFA Alumni Board to mentor the students and raise funds. Whether serving tri-tip dinners or cutting firewood, he’s helped raise over $17,000 in scholarship money for our kids.

Health care is important to him also. Since 2006 he’s been on the Umpqua Community Health Center Board of Directors, and now he serves as its president.

You’d think those critical roles would take up all his time, but the list of his volunteer activities goes on and on: new grandstands and scoreboards for the schools, refurbished locker rooms, judging social studies projects, teaching hunter safety.

Clearly, this man loves to use his talents and energy to help his neighbors. We thank you, Brad for your tremendous contribution to our community.