‘We’d like this to be about the kids, not about us'

Five people who've made a difference in East Pierce County become Unsung Heroes

By AvanI Nadkarni/of The Herald

At the 17th annual Sumner/Bonney Lake Community Summit, five people who have contributed to the East Pierce community while rarely stepping out of the shadows were given the 2010 Community Impact/Unsung Hero Awards.

A handful of people have been chosen ever year, out of a pile of many nominations, but Sumner School District Communications Director Ann Cook said this year was different.

“We had a very reluctant group of adults this year,” she said. “They didn’t want to be recognized at all.”

“I feel very undeserving of this,” she said. “There are dozens of people (at the Summit) that are just as deserving, if not more deserving, of this.”

Fellow nominee Iona Catonio agreed.

“Sonja’s right,” she said. “Those people that work side-by-side with me, they deserve it. I keep thinking, ‘Why didn’t I nominate somebody?’”

Julie Bevaart: A voice for the voiceless

As a coordinator for an area family center, Buckley resident Julie Bevaart became disturbed by how difficult it was for people to benefit from social services.

So she decided to make navigating that arena her full-time, unpaid job.

“I was frustrated by some of the restrictions that are placed on government programs,” Bevaart said. “I got very brave and decided it was time to make a difference.”

With an office given to her by the city of Buckley and financial support from friends, she opened the doors to White River Community Outreach in January 2009. Through the program, she helps residents from South King and Pierce counties find emergency shelter, clothing and food banks, navigate other services. Her passion, she said, comes from finding resources for people who may often be left voiceless.

“There are places for children and there are places for seniors,” she said. “If you’re a 40-year-old who lost your job ... most people don’t know where to send you.”

She rarely hears from her clients after they’ve gotten back on their feet, but last year, she won a guest-hosting gig on a radio contest and one of her first callers was a former client of hers.

“She was doing fabulously,” Bevaart said.. “She was back in school to be a lawyer, she had her own house, her kids were safe and healthy. That’s why I do this.”

Mike Cella: The unofficial greeter of Sumner High School

Mike Cella came to Sumner High School as an outsider, from a small Tacoma school and he didn’t know a soul.

Now a senior, Cella, who is the ASB vice-president of the school, is hoping to make underclassmen feel less isolated. His goal before graduating in June is to learn the name of each of his 1,230-plus peers.

“(ASB Advisor John) Norlin says names are important because it gets that one-on-one connection,” Cella said. “I wanted to do something that really pushed me.”

So Cella rises at 5 a.m. each day and greets each student as they walk in the main doors.

“I recognize a lot more faces and names,” he said.

Sumner School District Superintendent Gil Mendoza raved about the student, who plans to attend Eastern Washington University in the fall and study education.

“I thought as superintendent I was everywhere, but he is everywhere before me,” he said. “There are very few events at his school that he’s not involved in.”

Cella’s father, Brian Cella, said he’s so modest about his accomplishments that he and Cella’s mother, Teri Cella, rarely know about them.

“A lot of things he does, we’ll find out from his friends,” Brian Cella said.

Teri Cella has only one complaint.

“He doesn’t make his bed,” she said, laughing. “I guess we can give him a pass on that.”

Iona Catonio: Working 4 Kids

Bonney Lake resident Iona Catonio grew up in Alberta, Canada, but moved to Pierce County eight years ago to get married. She was training for the Ironman Triathalon when she was sidelined with an injury.

“I’d worked my whole life and suddenly I was stuck,” she said. “I needed something to do.”

She began volunteering for Lions 4 Kids House, a clothing bank that provides area students with clothing and personal care so they can feel confident amongst their peers. She instantly grew to love her job and now sometimes puts 40 or more hours a week as the manager. Catonio grew up in poverty with nine siblings, so she said she can relate to the kids that pass through her doors.

Now, she is also spearheading the Lions 4 Kids House Prom Project, which collects prom dresses and suits. The program gives area girls and boys makeovers and funds their entire prom, from dresses to tickets and pictures.

Catonio said she’s flattered by the award but wasn’t sure if she wanted to accept it.

“I think like all of (the recipients), we’d like this to be more about the kids and what we’re doing instead of us,” she said, adding that she decided to accept the award because she realized it would give Lions 4 Kids House more volunteers. “Even people who can give a couple of hours, we sure could use them.”

Karlie Pyl: Champion for students with learning disabilities

Bonney Lake High School senior Karlie Pyl has always been a top student, so during her junior year she decided to tutor her peers.

Her first student was a Bonney Lake High School student with Asperger’s Syndrome. She worked with the student a few times and the student’s mother was so impressed, she asked Pyl to tutor her child once a week.

Pyl then began tutoring another student who had autism. Now Pyl, a senior, tutors a handful of students, all with learning disabilities.

“It’s so exciting to see them so happy when something clicks,” said Pyl, who’s graduating in June and deciding between universities in Utah and Oregon.

Another source of pride for Pyl: Each of the students she has tutored has reported not only greater success in their classes, but also increased confidence. Bonney Lake High School staff members said that Pyl is committed to the students, often coming in well before school starts and staying well after the last bell to help the students.

In addition, Pyl volunteers at Multicare Good Samaritan Hospital and has served children in the summer lunch program at the Sumner School District. It is the tutoring however, she said, that she loves doing most.

“School’s always come easily for me,” said Pyl, who wants to be a surgeon. “When I tutor others, I have to look at another way of explaining it, or a different way of thinking about it.”

Sonja Workman: Advocate for abused children

Sonja Workman began her volunteering career as a leader for her daughter’s Girl Scout troop.

“I started volunteering like most moms do, because they needed a leader,” Workman said.

She stopped after Girl Scouts changed their policies but she had been bitten by the volunteer bug.

“I liked working with the at-risk girls the most,” Workman recalled of her Girl Scout leader days.

So she decided to complete the training program of the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program, which gives regular citizens the ability to accompany abused and neglected children to court and stick with their case until the child is placed in a safe and permanent home.

“After the training I thought ‘What have I gotten myself into?’” Workman recalled. “I decided to do it for one year and after my first case was done, I’d reevaluate.”

Her first case lasted more than three years and now, eight years after her training, Workman’s still involved with CASA. She handles between three to five cases at one time. It can take up much of her time and drain her emotionally.

“I look at it as a job,” she said of her coping mechanism. “There’s just no paycheck. The reward comes from the ... warm fuzzies.”