"On a Friday evening around 8 p.m., a J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. operations manager named Qasim received a text asking if someone on his team in Channahon, Illinois could pick up an important delivery Saturday morning. He realized it was gloves, masks and isolation gowns for a Tennessee hospital treating COVID-19 patients.

Without hesitation, Class A Drivers Jose Rodriquez and Eduardo Villarreal volunteered [as] they understood the pickup would be used to help save lives. Less than 12 hours [later], Jose and Eduardo were dispatched to pick up the shipments. Both drivers went beyond the call of duty. Many people forget the very necessary step of getting lifesaving materials where they need to go, and drivers like Jose and Eduardo answered the call for support."

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"I would like to tell you about my granddaughter, Zelisa Lane. She never stopped working during the pandemic taking care of me. She is my homecare provider. Zelisa made sure I took my (COVID-19) shot due to my preexisting conditions. After my shot, she [said] to protect me, she would take the shot also. I am 89 years old, and during the pandemic, [Zelisa] did all my shopping so I did not have to go outside."

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"Donna Ragland is a food service manager at Columbus Downtown High School in Columbus, Ohio. Like many school employees, Donna continued to work throughout the pandemic, serving families in her community, providing much-needed nourishment and support to children when their parents were being furloughed or laid off, and wondering how they would put food on the table. Donna did not flinch when faced with a deadly virus. She continued to serve; thanks to her and other school employees in her community, many families were able to stay healthy and make ends meet."

Learn more about Donna

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"Rose Fejerang helps people breathe. A respiratory therapist at San Francisco General Hospital and AFSCME Local 3299 member, she knew from an early age what her calling was. She cultivated an interest toward ‘nurturing, caring and helping others.' The pandemic made her job especially difficult, not to mention dangerous, frustrating and emotionally taxing. Far from throwing up her arms in the air, Fejerang doubled down on providing the highest quality care. ‘Rose always contributes to a calmness,' says Misty Scholz, one of her co-workers. ‘Definitely, she brings a sense of humanness. When we started seeing patients with COVID-19, she gave her all to the patients. She's really wonderful'."

For her exceptional service to her community, Fejerang is a winner of AFSCME's Never Quit Service Award, which recognizes public service workers who go above and beyond the call of duty to make their communities better.

Watch Rose Fejerang share her story

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"Miren Algorri is a family childcare provider in Chula Vista, California. Like many childcare providers, she continued to work throughout the pandemic, keeping the children safe while sometimes risking her health and well-being. Thanks to Miren and thousands of other providers, first responders, nurses and other healthcare professionals for doing their own jobs, savings lives and keeping our communities safe."

Learn more about Miren

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"My mother Mesha should be recognized because she didn't miss a day to make others feel safe and cared for. When she caught COVID-19, [she worried she would leave co-workers working hard[er], so the day after she tested negative, Mesha got vaccinations to make sure [she would get] no one else sick. Mesha went back to working 16 hours days before she even was fully recovered. She's amazing person to me and I love everything about her. She's a true motivation, because she loves to help everyone and [even] took supplies to people who couldn't go out. Mesha is an inspiration and she just brings joy [who] always put others before her own need."

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"I want our nation to remember that education support professionals like Andrea Beeman worked tirelessly when our students needed us the most. For almost 20 years, she has worked as a special education paraprofessional for the Maple Heights City School District in Ohio. Handling the unique challenges of students with severe developmental disabilities is demanding, but Andrea derives tremendous satisfaction from her position and calls it ‘an honor' to work with these students.

"During the pandemic, she spearheaded an effort [for us] to make thousands of calls to her students, checking on their wellbeing and assisting them with remote learning. As the president of her local association, she also worked with school administration to craft additional job duties for classifications who required face-to-face contact with students so these employees would not face a layoff. Her successful efforts helped retain all classified worker positions in the district.

Andrea received national media coverage and she was selected as the National Education Association's 2020 Education Support Professional of the Year.

Learn more about Beeman

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"Dr. Jeff Van Hook at The Village Dentist in Canton, Michigan, always shines as an amazing employer, leader and dentist to his team and patients. His leadership really helped guide our team and patients through the pandemic. Dentistry was hit hard by COVID-19, and Dr. Van Hook did everything in his power to keep our patients and our team safe. [Dr. Van Hook] made sure we would be compliant with the new protocols and [that] any patient who walked through our doors was safe! He never abandoned our patients, and saw emergencies throughout the lockdown. He always shows up for his patients! He is an authentic, one of a kind guy! Cheers to you, Dr. Van Hook!"

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"Amanda Schwenner at the Meadows Health hospital in Vidalia. Georgia, is a [hospital] housekeeper [who] went above and beyond her job description. A family member of mine was hospitalized with COVID-19, and she did her best to make our family feel comfortable and safe. She offered us drinks, got us comfortable chairs to get some rest, brought extra blankets and pillows, food (which she paid for) from vending machines and always kept our room clean and sanitized while always keeping a smile on her face. She deserves to be recognized for everything she did for our family."

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