Staff Sgt. Donna Smith, Community Hero

This week's Billy Johnson Community Hero is Staff Sergeant Donna Smith with the West Virginia National Guard. She was raised in Vulcan, West Virginia and graduated from Matewan High School. And, unlike many female graduates, Donna signed up for active duty in the United States Army right out of high school. After serving three years, she returned home to West Virginia where she raised a family. In recent years, however, she re-enlisted in the West Virginia National Guard, and with her two daughters still in high school, she was deployed to Iraq.

We hear stories every day about the horrible conditions there, and about how the people of Iraq are suffering. However, Staff Sgt. Smith noticed another group of people who needed attention...her own troops! "It would break my heart to see when mail time came that they would stand there and get nothing. I saw these people not receiving things, so I called some churches back home and I called some schools. I got all kinds of things together. What I did was make up a list and put everybody's name on it, and I emailed it to these places," explained Smith. "And what they did was send personal letters to them. So, now the people who were not getting anything were getting Christmas gifts, and that thrilled me! They would say, 'I don't even know this person.'"

Even after she returned home, where she works now as a recruiter for the West Virginia National Guard, Staff Sgt. Smith still works to make sure soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan receive care packages and letters. And even though she was away from her family for a year and missed her oldest daughter's high school graduation, she says if her country needed her to go back, she would go. "If they told me right now that I had to go back, I would do it again!" said Smith. "I know my girls have so much more respect for me now that I did it."

Congratulations to Staff Sergeant Donna Smith with the West Virginia National Guard, this week's Billy Johnson Community Hero!

Pikeville & Pike County Central High School Basketball Programs Chosen as Community Heroes

The Billy Johnson Community Hero for the second week of February, 2012 is actually a group of heroes joining together this weekend to fight breast cancer. And the heroes we are referring to are both the girls' and boys' basketball programs from Pikeville High School and Pike County Central High School. The "Play 4 Kay" event will be held on Saturday, February 11th beginning at 4pm at Pikeville High School, and is actually a series of four basketball games between the two schools. What makes this event special is that a portion of the proceeds from the gate will be donated to the "Kay Yow Cancer Fund". Kay Yow was the head girls' basketball coach at NC State, who died after a battle with breast cancer in 2009. Since her death, hundreds of "Play 4 Kay" events have been held across the country, at first mainly at college events, but now in high schools.

The Pikeville "Play 4 Kay" event organizer is Pikeville's girls' basketball coach, Cindy Stuart, who truly feels like they can make a difference through events like these. "These events are trickling down to a lot of High Schools and involving more sports such as running, golf and volleyball. I refereed a couple of volleyball games back in the fall where schools were doing "pink" games in October," explained Stuart. "You know, I'm getting to the age in my mid 40's where I'm starting to have a lot of friends who are fighting the fight. A lot of mothers of kids I know and mothers of my former players are battling breast cancer. As my friends and my age group are aging, I am starting to see breast cancer a lot more."

Ticket prices for the event are $2.00 for students and $5.00 for adults. Last year's event rasied $1,700, and Stuart is hoping for even more this year. Congratulations to both the girls' and boys' basketball programs at Pikeville and Pike Central High Schools...the Billy Johnson Community Heroes for the second week of February, 2012.

Captain John McMahan (KSP), Community Hero

The Billy Johnson Community Hero for the first week of February, 2012 is Captain John McMahan of the Kentucky State Police, who is the current Post Commander of Post 9 in Pikeville. Many people know Capexistt. McMahan, and know he is in his 19th year in the State Police. However, many people have no idea he just returned from serving a year in Iraq as a member of the National Guard. Capt. McMahan says spending a year in Iraq and seeing the living conditions there made him appreciate things that we take for granted. "You hear people talk about it, but when you go over there you see a lot of poverty. It is heartbreaking actually to see the children over there with no shoes on. They're literally wearing rags around. And, running water is just impossible...they don't have it over there. All the luxuries we take for granted like power, plumbing and a good place to live...just don't exist," explained Capt. McMahan.

Even though he knew he was taking the chance of never coming home, Capt. McMahan knew he had valuable experience to offer to his country. "I had a unique perspective because of my age and because of my experience in policing. I'm an MP in the military world. I felt I could bring something to the table that your average kid coming out of college as a Leutenant could not bring. That's why I felt like it was a calling. I felt like I could be used better by doing that."

Captain John McMahan's courage and heartfelt desire to serve his country is witnessed by everyone who knows him. And, he says it was very hard to explain to his family that he was doing what he truly feels that he was called to do. "That's what it was...a calling. And that is hard to explain to your family. They are looking at you and saying, 'Wow. You're over 40 years old now. You waited a long time to do this.' I had to explain it to my wife and children. I sat them down before I left and said that this was something I felt I had to do."

Congratulations Captain John McMahan, the Billy Johnson Community Hero for the first week of February, 2012.

Shelby Valley : January, 2012 Heroes

The Billy Johnson Community Hero for January, 2012 is the Shelby Valley Wildcats. On December 15, 2011, Riverside Christian School boys basketball team traveled to Shelby Valley for a game. The team didn't have a cheerleading squad or many fans to cheer the small team on. And, this did not go unnoticed by the Shelby Valley cheerleaders, who approached Principal Greg Napier and asked if they could divide their squad and half of them cheer for Riverside. "I am extremely proud of my students who went out of their way to make a team from outside our region feel at home, and give them something to feel good about in terms of the sport itself," explained Napier. "It was simply a game, and that night, they got to enjoy the game."

In fact, the cheerleaders weren't the only ones who were cheering for Riverside. Once the cheerleaders went to the other side, nearly half the fans followed them. A $500 dollar check was presented to Principal Napier and the students on behalf of Billy Johnson and the Johnson Law Firm. Congratulations Shelby Valley, the January 2012 Billy Johnson Community Hero!

Billy Johnson Community Heroes

We all know someone who has gone out of his/her way to help someone in need, whether it was a random act of kindness that happened once or something that occurs on a regular basis. Billy Johnson of the Johnson Law Firm is making it a point this year to seek these people out and recognize their efforts. Each Friday at noon on all East Kentucky Broadcasting stations, we will recognize a "Billy Johnson Community Hero," and tell his/her story. Out of the weekly heroes, we will select a monthly Community Hero who will receive a check for $500 dollars...Billy's way of saying, "Thank You."