The Rhea family, Skip, Stacy, Matthew and Alex, moved next door to us when Jon was in Jr. High. While many of his friends were busy with sports teams, beginning to get jobs and working on getting their driver’s license, Jon was more interested in Power Rangers and comic books. He realized that he would eventually need to find a job so that he could have spending money of his own, but the thought of going to a job interview was terrifying to him. That’s where the Rhea’s come in.
They saw in Jon a perfect candidate to sit for their boys. He loved to play with the same things that Alex and Matthew played with, namely Power Rangers, Legos, they liked the same movies and television shows. They also knew that Jon would take his job seriously and not spend time on the phone with his friends, or raiding the liquor cabinet or inviting girls over after the boys went to sleep, instead he would be watching the boys.
There is no more important gift that a parent can give a young person than to show them that they trust them with their most precious possession, their children. Skip and Stacy were the first people to show Jon that they knew that he was responsible and trustworthy. They paid him well for performing a job that he loved. The confidence that they showed in Jon helped him later in life when he knew that he could take on more responsibility and even bigger tasks.
For giving Jon the gift of trust, the H.E.A.L. Foundation is pleased to present the Rhea family with this Hero Award.
