[Matt Landau]

This week's podcast episode (embedded below) featuring TomG of Mt. Laurel Chalets in Gatlinburg, TN includes a very special segment (starts at 11:05) about an idea Tom calls Hometown Heroes here's how it's described on his site:

Every hometown has its heroes. The unseen caregiver who is called to serve. An unlikely achiever who tackles obstacles with a can-do spirit. Perhaps it's the unsung champion who runs the race but doesn't collect a trophy. Or maybe it's an unsuspecting servant-leader who is called to sacrifice.​

Heroes are advocates, torch-bearers, protectors, and defenders.​

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We’re asking you, our loyal guests and friends, to nominate one individual that deserves to be honored for their actions and celebrated with a relaxing getaway to Mountain Laurel Chalets. Your nomination could earn them a free 3 day mid-week (Sunday-Thursday) stay at one of our limited edition vacation homes. Stays are based on availability and made at the discretion of Mountain Laurel Chalets based upon needs of Heroes.​

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Tom has asked any member with feedback OR who'd be interested in creating a Hometown Heroes program of their own to reach out so I've decided to start a thread!

 

[TomG]

Thanks Matt. I look forward to hearing the responses and additional ideas. We are moving to engage other local owned businesses to join in the promotion and the awards for the heros. We had a great response from our repeat guests with nominations. In addition we pitched this to our owners and several have stepped up to volunteer their homes to host the heros.

 

[AFirmani]

What a beautiful idea! There are so many in our lives that give! As I read this, I thought of my husband, who does so much to keep us all living our best life 🙂 We are now transitioning from his working too much to a life of VR (discovered thru Matt so many years ago) - and I inspired to include and give back to people we find along the way - life's heroes!

 

[TomG]

Matt and I had a discussion about our Hometown Hero Contest on his podcast Unlocked back in May. We launched this pilot right after that and we are now naming our first round of winners. The fun is only getting started as we begin to host these Heroes and involve other local businesses to join in with honoring heroes like these. Thanks Matt for helping me launch Hometown Heroes and giving me the courage to follow through with a small idea...that I hope will make a big impact.

Kyle Kilby is a first responder in Walton KY. His wife and he honeymooned with us in 2015. Their youngest daughter has epilepsy and autism which has given Kyle a mission and purpose in his role as a firefighter. He trains the members of his department to look for signs in children and adults who have mental disabilities. He has helped to place alerts on homes that have family members who have disabilities so that when their home is logged in the system for a call, an alert lets all on the call know that a family member has the listed disabilities.

His daughter Amelia is non verbal and has touch aversion. She wouldn’t answer a firefighter who comes into her home to save her during a fire. With the alerting system, the responders know that a child who is non verbal and may run from them is in the home. They also know which bedroom she will be in and that she has a sleep safe bed which she cannot get out of on her own.

He’s also currently creating a class as an instructor to go over the body cues of patients with autism, like stemming, aversion to touch, or no eye contact and word repetition. Kyle does this so that members of the department understand how to interact with and understand cues that will help them better treat and comfort patients with autism or other mental disabilities.

Kyle is our Hometown Hero. Kyle is making a difference in his family and in others' lives. We celebrate that and are honored to host Kyle and his family for a free three night stay at one of our properties. In honor of our 50th Anniversary we asked our guests to nominate their hometown hero who embodies the MLC values. The response has been significant and it is a great joy to select these winners and host them for a three night stay in one of our properties.

 

[Matt Landau]

Wow, Tom this is so meaningful. What a beautiful start to my day and a reminder of the immense impact vacation rentals have on our surroundings.

What stood out to me the most (beyond this obvious heroic profile) is Kyle's interest in creating systems to protect and preserve and pass on his learnings...

He’s also currently creating a class as an instructor to go over the body cues of patients with autism, like stemming, aversion to touch, or no eye contact and word repetition. Kyle does this so that members of the department understand how to interact with and understand cues that will help them better treat and comfort patients with autism or other mental disabilities.

This to me is achievement of the highest order. Like you mentioned to me back in Chicago, "you've stumbled onto sacred ground" with this idea and I cannot wait to share it with others.

 

[Debi]

Matt and I had a discussion about our Hometown Hero Contest on his podcast Unlocked back in May. We launched this pilot right after that and we are now naming our first round of winners. The fun is only getting started as we begin to host these Heroes and involve other local businesses to join in with honoring heroes like these. Thanks Matt for helping me launch Hometown Heroes and giving me the courage to follow through with a small idea...that I hope will make a big impact.

Kyle Kilby is a first responder in Walton KY. His wife and he honeymooned with us in 2015. Their youngest daughter has epilepsy and autism which has given Kyle a mission and purpose in his role as a firefighter. He trains the members of his department to look for signs in children and adults who have mental disabilities. He has helped to place alerts on homes that have family members who have disabilities so that when their home is logged in the system for a call, an alert lets all on the call know that a family member has the listed disabilities.

His daughter Amelia is non verbal and has touch aversion. She wouldn’t answer a firefighter who comes into her home to save her during a fire. With the alerting system, the responders know that a child who is non verbal and may run from them is in the home. They also know which bedroom she will be in and that she has a sleep safe bed which she cannot get out of on her own.

He’s also currently creating a class as an instructor to go over the body cues of patients with autism, like stemming, aversion to touch, or no eye contact and word repetition. Kyle does this so that members of the department understand how to interact with and understand cues that will help them better treat and comfort patients with autism or other mental disabilities.

Kyle is our Hometown Hero. Kyle is making a difference in his family and in others' lives. We celebrate that and are honored to host Kyle and his family for a free three night stay at one of our properties. In honor of our 50th Anniversary we asked our guests to nominate their hometown hero who embodies the MLC values. The response has been significant and it is a great joy to select these winners and host them for a three night stay in one of our properties.

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Love love love this! ❣️