We asked some very thoughtful members of our community to reflect on what they’ve learned from their heroes.

Brittany Null

Who is my hero and why? What a “meaty” set of questions and my answer is very simple. My hero is my dad, who passed away of cancer 8 years ago. Why? Because he lived a legacy and didn’t even know it. His resilience, strength, wisdom, love and passion shaped me as person and gave me the tools I needed to survive this harsh world. My dad, Greg Nightengale, immigrated to the USA in the 60’s from Panama. In the heart of the civil rights movement, my grandparents, uncles and my dad made their way to Denver, Colorado. My dad recounted stories of how hard it was. Him and his brothers were immediately forced to assimilate and were not allowed to speak their native language, Spanish, at school; eventually they both unfortunately lost their language completely. Read more>>

Cynthia Lockhart

My hero is my Mother Gerri Reid. If I could speak to her today, I would tell her she was right about everything!!! In my mother’s house, everything in the house had a specific place, so we learned if we did not get it right, we would hear from her big time and possibly get a spanking. My mother was a force, and she was a perfectionist. What always comforted my sister, and I is that we knew our mother loved us and she would always protect us. Mother understood how to make way out of no way. Mother was a diva; she was an elegant and beautiful woman.  Read more>>

Sylvia Edwards

As an entrepreneur, I have lots of heroes, but the one that stands out the most when I reflect on my life and my mission is Fred Rogers. Not only was he a hard worker and pioneer in the industry, he was also a beacon of hope and light for children all across the world. He taught kindness, compassion and love as fundamental tenets for living a well-crafted life. He taught lessons both on and off the screen. In politics, he convinced government funded agencies to fund public programming because of how it benefited those of lesser incomes or underprivileged status. Read more>>

Timothy Smith

The people that come to mind immediately are my two grandmas. I got to spend quite a bit of time with them growing up and these two women were impactful on me as a person, artist, and heavily influenced my love and appreciation of flowers. From them I learned to be resourceful and fearless in the creative process. They were both self-taught artists, painting in various mediums, and just had an innate sense of artistic skill and sensibility. My maternal grandma was also skilled in wood carving and cake decorating. Read more>>