Three volunteers were recently honored as Richardson Real Heroes for their inspiring, unselfish, and unheralded efforts, which make Richardson a better place to live and work

The honorees and the organizations for which they volunteer:

• Dick Caplinger, Volunteers in Police Service
• Penny Carter, NETWORK of Community Ministries
• Stuart Rampy, J.J. Pearce High School Robotics Club

The heroes were celebrated April 11 at the 10th annual Richardson Real Heroes awards ceremony at the Richardson Civic Center. Bruce MacPherson, Managing Director of the Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts, was the keynote speaker. MacPherson touted the importance of the large volunteer pool the Eisemann Center uses for the hundreds of events hosted there annually.  

“We continue to find outstanding volunteers every year who inspire us with their commitment, and yet they seek no recognition for themselves,” said Laurie Garvie, chair of the Richardson Real Heroes committee. “We had a repeat attendee to the ceremony ask how we continue to find such outstanding volunteers. The truth is, it is hard for our committee to select from the exceptional nominees for this recognition.”

Richardson Real Heroes was founded by The Richardson Coalition with the motto of “Honoring Silent Generosity.” Richardson Real Heroes seeks to honor those who quietly serve while providing tremendous services without receiving public recognition. Nominees are sought from the public and the non-profit organizations serving Richardson. The Real Heroes committee chose the honorees from a large pool of nominees.

The 2019 Richardson Real Heroes:

Dick Caplinger – Dick stands out in a group of extremely committed volunteers helping Richardson Police. Since joining Richardson Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS), he has averaged more than 1,100 volunteer hours annually. In 2016, he set a record for the most hours volunteered by VIPS in one year – 1,377 hours. In 2017, he beat his own record with 1,433 hours. He volunteers as a uniformed Field Operations Volunteer (FOV) three full days each week, installing key lockboxes for the elderly and homebound, performing house checks for residents on vacation, assisting officers with auto accidents, clearing abandoned vehicles and supporting the police. He was born in Dallas, raised in Bellaire, and has lived in Richardson since 1989. After earning a degree in Business Administration from Sam Houston State University, he spent four years in the U.S. Army as a helicopter pilot with the 1^st Air Cavalry. After that, he worked in insurance until retiring in 2010 to allow for more time with family, hunting and volunteering.

Penny Carter - Penny has volunteered at the Network of Community Ministries for four years, donating 4,020 hours to help the senior population in Richardson. Most of Network’s volunteers commit to working three hours a week, but Penny regularly commits to six hours a day, four days a week, with most of her effort devoted to the Seniors Net Program. Seniors Net volunteers work to provide basic needs, such as food and clothing. Penny once owned a Montessori school and credits that experience with preparing her for work with our senior population. Like the children in her school, seniors seek kindness and respect in life’s interactions. She also credits the staff and coordinators at Network for their patience in helping her learn the ropes. She believes she receives as much from the clients as they receive from Network. “Each day is a new and different experience,” Penny says, “and seeing, listening to, and helping Network’s senior clients is a joy and a privilege.”

Stuart Rampy - Stuart has volunteered more than 500 hours annually since 2008 as a mentor for the J.J. Pearce High School Robotics Club, sharing his knowledge of programming, electronics, design, fundraising, and leadership with more than 100 students.  His efforts inspired many of them to excel in high school, furthering their education in STEM fields in college, and beyond. As lead mentor for the club, he established and leads a nonprofit that raises funds to support the club. The Pearce team has advanced to the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship four times. To reach more students, Stuart recently started an initiative to bring competition robotics to the Pearce feeder schools. In its first year, North Junior High is fielding two teams in the FIRST Tech Challenge program, with plans to expand to Parkhill Junior High in the 2019-2020 school year. Stuart never asks for recognition. His reward is seeing the students he works with succeed. His passion is to help the robotics club succeed and reflect well on the City of Richardson, Pearce High School, and the Richardson Independent School District.

More facts about the Richardson Real Heroes Program and the award recipients can be found at www.richardsonrealheroes.com.  Follow us on Facebook @RichardsonRealHeroes and sign up for our newsletter by sending your email to richardsonrealhero@gmail.com. Nominations for the 2020 Richardson Real Heroes will open in November 2019.

For more information on this story, contact Tom Brooks, publicity chair of Richardson Real Heroes, at tom@tommywrites.com.

Richardson Real Heroes honors volunteers doing great work on behalf of Richardson, Richardson residents or Richardson schools. Nominations for the 2019 Real Heroes awards are open and can be submitted online through the group’s website.

The basic criteria:

• The service must benefit Richardson, its residents or schools.
• The individual receives no monetary compensation for the service.
• The individual has not received significant public recognition for the service.
• Elected officials are not eligible.

Real Heroes can be nominated in two classifications: Adult (post high school) and Youth (at least 16 years of age). The Real Heroes will be honored at an awards ceremony at the Richardson Civic Center on April 11, 2019.

More detailed criteria and the nomination form are on the Richardson Real Heroes website at:  www.richardsonrealheroes.com.

“This program is a great way to celebrate volunteers who never seek recognition and whose work significantly improves the Richardson community,” said Laurie Garvie, Real Heroes committee chair.

Nominations will close at midnight Dec. 22, 2018.

Richardson Real Heroes is in its 10th year of operation and was founded and funded by The Richardson Coalition, a political action committee.

For more information, contact Laurie Garvie: richardsonrealhero@gmail.com

Best Time Ever To Donate

A $50,000 matching grant effectively doubles any gift made to the City of Richardson’s Inclusive Playground between now and Dec. 15, 2018.

The grant from The Rees-Jones Foundation in Dallas was made to spur giving for significant enhancements to the playground facility to be built next year at Richardson’s Cottonwood Park. The newly announced features will make the playground more user friendly, accessible, and safe for all potential users.

“Now is the best time to give to the Inclusive Playground since every dollar given will be doubled with the matching grant,” said Bruce MacPherson, chairman of the fund-raising effort. “We are ending the fund-raising effort in December, and this $50,000 matching opportunity is a great way to make a big impact.” 

Since the project was first announced in early 2017, community feedback on conceptual plans yielded several suggested improvements that the City has adopted, which will now be added at Cottonwood Park, including:

• a fence to control exit points for children
• 100 percent coverage with the “pour in place” surface
• more shade elements
• a restroom (with changing table) next to the playground
• more handicapped parking spots next to the playground

Get Your Name On Permanent Signage

The funds raised in this final push will be applied to those enhancements. Donations are encouraged at all levels. A minimum $1,000 donation will get your name on permanent signage at the playground. To donate, go https://rerotaryclub.com/playground/.

MacPherson is chair of the Signature Project Committee of the Richardson East Rotary Club (RERC). The club is the fund-raising partner with the City of Richardson in a collaboration to build Richardson’s first inclusive playground.

Inclusive playgrounds are built to increase access to play features for all ages and abilities. The playground will feature ramping to reach play features, special “pour in place” surfacing to allow easier access for those with mobility impairments, adaptive seating, and sensory play features.

The effort was also bolstered recently with the announcement of a $100,000 naming rights gift from Charles and Ann Eisemann, long-time community benefactors and civic leaders. The Eisemanns also pledged another $25,000 to help pay for the restroom facility adjacent to the playground.

Lori Smeby, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said construction is estimated to begin in January 2019 with completion scheduled for April 2019. The fund raising effort will end Dec. 31, but the matching grant opportunity deadline is Dec. 15.

In early 2017, the City of Richardson and the Richardson East Rotary Club joined forces to develop plans, increase public awareness and raise more funds to enhance the building of the city’s first inclusive playground.

The project traces its roots to the city’s 2015 bond program, which included about $200,000 that was scheduled to replace Cottonwood Park’s existing playground. Based on community needs and similar projects elsewhere nationally, Richardson’s Parks and Recreation Department had the idea of expanding the project to build an inclusive playground. At the same time, the Richardson East Rotary Club was seeking a signature club project, which resulted in plans for a $450,000 public-private partnership that would add inclusive playground elements, supported by grants and corporate/philanthropic support from the community.

Those enhancements increased the project budget, and the City and Richardson East Rotary Club stepped up with the needed extra funds. With all the enhancements for both the playground and Cottonwood Park, the budget has now exceeded $900,000.

Other top donors for the enhanced, inclusive playground project include the B.B. Owen Trust, which awarded $100,000, and the Richardson East Rotary Foundation, which has provided more than $62,000. The effort also relied on grassroots funding, with hundreds of adults and children in the community donating as little as 5 cents, up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

For more information about Richardson’s new inclusive playground, including information on how to make donations, visit 

https://rerotaryclub.com/playground/

A pair of large gifts vaulted fund raising totals for Richardson’s first Inclusive Playground to more than $210,000 – about 84 percent -- of the $250,000 goal.

The B.B Owen Trust recently donated $100,000 to the cause and the Richardson East Rotary Club added more than $50,000 from its annual Rotary Cares – Games & Gala. Combined with funds donated earlier, Richardson East Rotary has contributed a total of $65,000 to the cause.

“We are energized by these large gifts, but also by the myriad of small ways the community has responded to this project,” said Bruce MacPherson, chair of the fund-raising arm of the Inclusive Playground Committee. “We couldn’t get where we want to go without the large gifts, but also the many small donations that are coming in from all over the community. People want to feel a part of this.”

Children have jumped on the fund-raising effort. Last fall, the Student Council at Terrace Elementary invited the Inclusive Playground Committee to make a presentation on the project and adopted it as one of its fund-raising efforts. The students have been selling cotton candy at school events and pledged $1,000 to the playground.

The Richardson Council of PTAs recently endorsed, with school district approval, the 47Nickels.com campaign in elementary schools of the Richardson Independent School District. The idea of the campaign is simple: if all of Richardson’s roughly 106,000 residents contributed just $2.35 (or 47 nickels), the campaign goal of $250,000 would be met. The Inclusive Playground Committee provided coin envelopes and letters of explanation for student take-home folders. The PTA at each school has the option of participating and coordinating the program at its school.

The Inclusive Playground will replace the existing playground at Cottonwood Park. The facility will utilize ramping, adapted play equipment, and specialized surfaces that allow accessibility for those with physical challenges to play alongside, and with, those who have normal physical function.

The Inclusive Playground is a joint effort of the City of Richardson and Richardson East Rotary Club. The city has about $200,000 in bond issue funds to replace the aging playground equipment at Cottonwood Park. After the bond issue was approved by voters, the Parks and Recreation Department proposed making the new playground inclusive but needed more funds. The Richardson East Rotary Club teamed with the city on the project and became the fund-raising arm, seeking another $250,000 to fund an inclusive facility.

To make a donation or learn more about the Inclusive Playground effort, go to 47Nickels.com or Richardson East Rotary’s playground site. If your organization would like a presentation on the Inclusive Playground, contact Tom Brooks or Bruce MacPherson at info@rerotaryclub.com

Richardson Real Heroes has chosen four volunteers to recognize this year for their unselfish and unheralded work to improve the lives of Richardson residents. The volunteers will be recognized at 7 p.m. April 5 with a ceremony and reception at the Richardson Civic Center.

The honorees and the organizations for which they volunteer:

• Janet DePuy, Heights Park Neighborhood Association
• Abdel Diab, Muslim American Society, Richardson ISD
• Rick Hart, Richardson Police Department
• John Laine, Texas Ramp Project

This group was chosen from nominations made by residents and nonprofit organizations of all types serving the community. All of the nominees were worthy of being recognized. The Real Heroes committee chose this group for their extraordinary and longstanding service, with little public recognition, said Barbara Berthold, chair of the Real Heroes committee.

“Choosing from among a group of exceptional volunteers is very difficult,” Berthold said. “They all make unique and significant contributions to our community, and they are all heroes.”

Friends and coworkers of the Real Heroes are encouraged to leave personal comments and anecdotes about the Real Heroes here. Selections from the comments will be used for a keepsake memory book compiled for each Real Hero.

The 2018 Richardson Real Heroes

Janet DePuy – Janet DePuy has made significant contributions to the City of Richardson through her tremendous leadership in the Heights Park Neighborhood Association. When the HPNA was founded in 2005, she began serving as membership chair. In 2008, she became president and has served in that role for the past 10 years. Through Janet’s dedication and leadership, Heights Park has become one of the most active and productive neighborhood associations in Richardson, making significant contributions to the City of Richardson’s economic growth and development. A few of the many accomplishments include the revitalized Heights Shopping Center, the addition of QuikTrip, two creek bridge enhancements, an active Crime Watch program, a Yard of the Month program, street parties, and street sign toppers. Janet also serves on the City of Richardson Plan Commission, is on the board of AIR (Arts Incubator of Richardson), and is in Leadership Richardson Class XXXIII.

Abdel Diab - Abdel is a senior at Berkner High School where he is ranked in the top 10 academically in his senior class. His volunteerism includes teaching Arabic reading to children at his mosque during the summer, volunteering through the National Honor Society, involvement in the Richardson Youth Leadership organization, serving as a Peer Mentor through the Richardson ISD and donating blood regularly. Abdel is participating this school year in the Richardson ISD Professional Intern Program, shadowing a doctor. The Richardson East Rotary Club chose him for the highly selective Rotary Youth Leadership Award summer camp. He stood out among that group of leaders and was chosen to serve on the organization’s Advisory Committee. Abdel also was selected to participate in the Southwestern Youth Leadership conference sponsored by the Military Order of the World Wars.

Rick Hart - Reserve Lt. Rick Hart has served the Richardson Police Department for 35 years with more than 25,000 volunteer hours. Lt. Hart performs the duties of a full-time police officer, but on a part-time, unpaid basis. He completes the same training and certifications as paid police officers. He is the commander of the Police Reserves Unit and has led traffic logistics and law enforcement for the Richardson Christmas Parade for the past 25 years. Hart is committed to his community and to improving the lives of everyone in it.  He has served as a board member of Ability Connection (serving adults and youths with special needs) since 2004.  He was interim CEO in 2016, during their search for a permanent CEO.  He has been president of Rosehill Estates HOA, except for a two-year gap, since 2004.  He and his family have raised thousands of dollars for Cerebral Palsy research.

John Laine - As a member of the Richardson Kiwanis Club, John Laine created the Dallas Ramp Project in 1989. The project provides thousands of free wheelchair ramps for individuals unable to afford the cost of a safe ramp. The volunteers that build these ramps come from churches, civic organizations, schools, and businesses and they expect to build 2000 ramps in 2018. John has lived in the Canyon Creek neighborhood since 1977.  He retired as an aerospace salesman in 2005 to volunteerfulltime as executive director of the Texas Ramp Project.  On any given week, John can be seen driving his car, which has 500,000 miles on it, all over Texas to recruit and train other organizations that are joining the Texas Ramp Project. 

The April 5 event honoring the Real Heroes will have video highlights of each Real Hero and a program honoring volunteerism in the community. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Richard C. Benson, president of the University of Texas at Dallas.

The event is open to the public and we invite you to join us in honoring the 2018 Richardson Real Heroes. Please RSVP by April 3 to richardsonrealhero@gmail.com. More information about the Richardson Real Heroes Program can be found at www.richardsonrealheroes.com.

For more information on this story, contact Tom Brooks, publicity chair of Richardson Real Heroes, at tom@tommywrites.com or phone 214-415-2551