Medical Lake and the surrounding West Plains community have a new Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Year, and this year’s recipient is well-known and admired for her organizational skills and dedication to her community, no matter the circumstances.
Long-time community volunteer Reggie Heebink received the Medical Lake Kiwanis Club Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Year award during the 41st Annual Senior Citizens Valentine’s Day Dinner to audible cheers and sounds of applause by the dinner’s attendees.
Each year, the Kiwanis Club solicits nominations from the community, asking them to select senior volunteers who have “greatly contributed of themselves to the good of others and the community.” Nominees must be considered senior citizens, and their volunteer work can be recent or from as far back as the nominator believes is relevant.
“This is a person who…does the right thing because it’s what she needs to do, it’s what she has to do, and it’s what she’s always done,” Master of Ceremonies Jordan Cole said before announcing Heebink’s name. “This is not somebody who is pretending to be from the heart, this is somebody who truly isn’t looking for attention. She cares about the community.”
Joined by two recent volunteers of the year, Heebink was presented with a wooden clock and plaque to commemorate her volunteer service, along with a corsage and a special seat in the Founder’s Day Parade later this year. Her acceptance speech was short but true to her reputation as a community servant.
“When they were reading what was written about me, I (thought to myself), I had forgotten about that,” Heebink said while recalling the moment she received the award. “I try to volunteer with all of the nonprofits because they’re all doing great things…and there’s just things that need to get done.”
Heebink was nominated by another prominent figure and community servant, Gerri Johnson. Johnson is the president of the community nonprofit ReImagine Medical Lake and owns Farm Salvation, a small decor shop along one of the town’s main roads.
The two first connected when Heebink took over the role of festival and parade director from current Medical Lake Mayor Terri Cooper, who stepped down to run for mayor and serve her community in a political role.
Since then, Johnson and Heebink have collaborated on many festivals and community events, including the annual Trunk-or-Treat where costumes are provided for kids by organizers like Heebink, who worked the entire year leading up to the event to source secondhand costumes.
“We’ve worked with Reggie for several years, and there’s nothing quite like the heart of a volunteer,” Johnson said. “Her dedication and passion are unlike anyone else I know, and it’s one of the main reasons why we nominated her for the award.”
While Johnson said she could have nominated Heebink in past years, it was Heebink’s selfless service to her community following the Gray Road Wildfire that prompted Johnson to submit the nomination. Heebink was one of thousands of people displaced by the Gray fire and one of 240 homeowners who lost everything, including some of the event decorations that were stored at her home.
She resigned from her roles within ReImagine Medical Lake following the Gray Road fire, but Johnson said Heebink returned to ReImagine just a few days after the disaster to assist other survivors in navigating the same recovery process she was also navigating.
“For someone who just experienced the same (trauma), she was offering her strength to others,” Johnson said. “She has come in and supported me and continues to be a strong leader. I lean on her as a friend and as a leader.”
Heebink has been a member of the Medical Lake community for 20 years and said she began volunteering full-time after she retired from her job as a traveling sales representative. She suddenly found herself without much to do and a hunger to serve others, especially families and kids in need.
“I was the festival director for several years, and I’ve been the Parade director for eight, and I just (enjoy) watching the families and the kiddos come and have a good time with none of the stuff that’s going on out there,” Heebink said. “This is a safe community, the kids can run around and play, and we make sure everything is safe for them.”
Along with organizing the town’s festivals, Heebink also supports the Kiwanis Club’s Dollars for Scholars fund drive, participates in Medical Lake’s cleanup days, and is active with the area Shriner’s group. A talented seamstress and crafter, Heebink also uses her interests to support her community and hopes to inspire others to volunteer to meet the needs of their communities and help them thrive. “A lot of communities kind of fell apart during (the pandemic), and some of them still haven’t come back together to what they had been doing before, and sometimes because of a lack of volunteers,” Heebink said. “As long as you can keep it going, keep it fresh, and energized, people will come.”
