Their stories are powerful and inspiring.

And we’re excited to share them with you.

This is the 2018 class of Everyday Heroes, who quietly work to heal, unite and improve our communities.

In the spring, we asked for nominations to recognize members of the Columbus area whose extraordinarily
selfless acts set them apart in these divisive times.

After reviewing the nominations, our panel of judges selected five finalists and 20 semifinalists. Each will be honored at a luncheon on Sept. 18 in the Boat House restaurant, with one finalist being named the Dispatch Media Group Hero.

We applaud our sponsors—the Columbus Foundation, the United Way of Central Ohio and CME Federal Credit Union—for supporting our second annual event.

To highlight the achievements of these Everyday Heroes, we also created this special publication through the combined efforts of The Columbus Dispatch, ThisWeek Community News and Dispatch Magazines.

You will learn about a nurse practitioner’s compassion to keep patients from being marginalized; a “gear-head” who changes lives with modified go-karts; an emergency department physician who reaches teens to prevent drug abuse; a Clintonville resident who instills a giving spirit in children. And so many more.

We are grateful—and in awe—of their contributions.

Bradley M. Harmon
President
Dispatch Media Group

Ray Paprocki
Publisher
Dispatch Magazines