The Telegraph and Gazette honors the everyday heroes making a difference in the Sauk Valley through their hard work, kindness and dedication.

We hope the stories in this special edition serve as a reminder that heroism doesn’t have to be extraordinary to matter.

A nonprofit CEO who never sits behind his desk. A school board member who makes sure every voice is heard. A retiree who filled Joliet with Little Free Libraries. Meet the Herald News 2026 Everyday Heroes nominated by our readers.

Susan Tyrrell’s teacher voice still is loud and clear when she’s working with fifth grade students at Teen Turf in Amboy.

When people comment to Beth Saffell about what the Jefferson/Lincoln PTO is doing or not doing, Saffell sees an opportunity.

Rochelle's Sarah Flanagan volunteers for numerous local causes, including the Hub City Senior Center, the Rochelle Rotary Club and the Rochelle Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

As the librarian at Cortland Elementary School, Leslie Leahy said she’s put a lot of effort into ensuring the library can be a welcoming environment for all. “I wanted this to be the center of the school,” she said.

Jennifer Mobley, co-founder of “Big Hearts of Fox Valley” with her husband Minor, said she’s witnessed first-hand the power of a community coming together. Her nonprofit unites the police and fire department, schools and volunteers to help St. Charles D303 students in need.

When Roger Wittenauer sat down to chat with firefighters from the Amboy and Sublette fire departments at an Amboy Fire Department Depot Days breakfast a few years ago, he mentioned he missed the fire service.

For Seneca High School Resource Officer (SRO) Ken Sangston, there is one clear cut responsibility that is above all others in his position.

A PE teacher who turned grief into a mental health movement. A school resource officer who never says he's too busy. A Marine who's always there. Meet the Illinois Valley's reader-nominated 2026 Everyday Heroes.

A first-year dispatcher already named Dispatcher of the Year. A veteran who enlisted at 17. A dental care provider going above and beyond for her community. Meet the Rochelle area's reader-nominated 2026 Everyday Heroes.

The non-profit is a member of Lions International, which aims to help children and adults with hearing and vision impairments. It started in 1936 as a group of downtown Dixon businessmen.

The Aroma Park Fire Protection District was put to test after the March 10 tornado that tore through the small Kankakee County community, as this storm hit so close to home for them and their families. Yet the department of 25 personnel, including both part-time and paid on-call.

A group of Kankakee County military veterans, mainly Marines, continue their call for service well into retirement years.

Lavita McKinzie believes she is receiving as many blessings from her volunteer work with CGH Auxiliary as she gives.

Phyllis Holmes said she works five hours a day, three days a week, at the Broadway Head Start, despite needing oxygen to help herself breathe.

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate, a nonprofit, volunteer organization that advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children within the juvenile court system.

Barb Neises learned how to volunteer from her mom and has taken on projects for the McHenry Riverwalk Foundation since.

Along with owning two businesses in Oswego, Kelley Rice is also involved in several Oswego organizations.

For more than 50 years, educators have taught generations of Yorkville middle school students to put their best foot forward in the annual Square Dance Jubilee.

They don't wear capes. They drive through snowstorms, feed the homeless, and show up every single day for the people who need them most. Meet more 2026 Everyday Heroes in McHenry County — and the readers who wanted to say thank you

At any hour and in any weather, two retired firefighters dedicate themselves to assisting fire departments in emergency calls across McHenry County by keeping bellies full and hearts warm.

Although Gloria Zamudio’s official title is “clerical aide,” her role is “everyday hero” for Zamudio performs dozens of everyday tasks around the school and helps foster “good office camaraderie” by learning about each other working together as a group, she said.

After a Cary woman started a free food pantry on her front porch, neighbors starting taking it upon themselves to help keep it stocked.

With a background in accounting and an appreciation for small business, Hall is the volunteer treasurer for A Servant’s Heart, a role she said suits her on several levels.

Grassroots community activist Trista Brown also has a heart for low-income seniors and serves the residents of Joshua Arms Senior Residences in Joliet whenever she can.

Thanks to Bev, many area children are learning to love reading so for the impact that she makes,

Hugo Saltijeral is executive director of Valley Sheltered Workshop in Batavia – after a second career serving the homeless at Hesed House in Aurora.

She leads her business with compassion, always putting her employees first and creating a supportive environment.

When people need a police officer, firefighter or animal control officer, a calm voice often is what callers need to hear.

When Wendy Briley’s husband, Ken, became the Grundy County Sheriff in 2019, she looked around and realized the county didn’t have a Shop with a Cop program.

In the days following the March 10 tornado in Kankakee County, the Grace Christian Academy teacher discovered she was capable of more than she knew; that teacher was Christine Johnson.

If the thousands of animals that have spent time at the Tails Humane Society animal shelter in DeKalb could talk, they’d surely say Nancy Rigler is among their heroes. Rigler, 77, of DeKalb, has been a Tails volunteer for half a century.

We Care of Grundy County has been the place to turn to for those in need in Grundy County since 1979, but it got its start as a phone tree.

The evolution of Downers Grove is showcased in a new visual book created by a local longtime resident.

George Tasson saw a need and felt he had the time on his hands. So he lent a hand. An Elmhurst resident for 52 years, the former Marine who turned 81 in March is in his 26th year volunteering with the York girls softball program.

Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Greg Sams, the lead prosecutor in 35 first-degree murder trials, didn't start out as a lawyer – or even a prosecutor.

Kankakee cross country coach Rich Olmstead and soccer coach Vincent Mkhwanazi, though not originally from the Kankakee area, have seen the community they love and now call home come together in an inspiring way following March's devastating tornado.

There’s a saying that goes if these walls could talk, the stories they’d tell. The shelves in the DeKalb Public Library are filled with stories. Maybe some tell of longtime volunteer Paul Mandigo

The HardyStrong Foundation, a non-profit charity named after the late Justin Hardy, continues to share his story while while raising awareness for cancers caused by genetic mutations nearly four years after his passing.

A Crystal Lake has made it his personal mission to provide blankets to people who are homeless. He pitched his plan to his principal, and in the process got others at his school into giving.

A group of Gardner South-Wilmington Students began the Student Assistance Fund in 2017, a fund available to those in need that's been kept up ever since.

Applebee is retiring after 34 years at Seneca High School. In her final year, former students and colleagues are reflecting on how she transformed literature into lived experience – and created a classroom where every student felt safe to be themselves.

Many individuals and families without housing don’t see staying at a shelter as an option because they’ll be forced to give up their pet. Dixon’s Granny Rose Animal Shelter and PADS Homeless Shelter aim to remove that barrier with their program the Stevie Project.

When Gordon Kelm was a 4-H member of the Hume Happy Hustlers 4-H Club, there was a 4-H club in nearly every township in Whiteside County and throughout Illinois.

"It’s been an interesting ride for sure." Nic Gaston started in transportation at Indian Creek. Now he's also a coach, head of facilities, a volunteer multiple times over.

Dennis Swinton’s volunteer work has included the Rochelle Kiwanis Golden K Club, the Boy Scouts, the Rochelle Moose Lodge and the Masonic Lodge.

A free store for neighbors in need. A teacher her students still call Ms. Rhonda, decades later. Meet the Sauk Valley’s reader-nominated 2026 Everyday Heroes — as told by the people who love them.

Larry and Anne Prindaville of Dixon say their volunteer work stems from “our faith and our belief that we need to do good works for others."