Last year, the City of Garden Grove asked the community to nominate local heroes who displayed selfless acts of service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 40 individuals, businesses, and organizations were nominated.

On Tuesday, May 24, 2022, Garden Grove Mayor Steve Jones and the Garden Grove City Council will recognize each nominee during the Garden Grove Strong Heroes' Reception.

Katrena Alba, Henry's Bar & Grill

During the pandemic, Katrena Alba organized several food drives at Henry's Bar and Grill. She also partnered with The Lord's Love and Church of Nazarene, offering hot meals to those in need on a weekly basis; for memorial services; and during Thanksgiving.

Boys and Girls Clubs of Garden Grove

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Garden Grove continued to serve the community through the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization provided emergency childcare for essential workers; instructional support to students; telehealth counseling; food distributions; and helped childcare providers in the county with essential supplies needed to stay safe and open.

Bill Bracken, Bracken's Kitchen

Bill Bracken, and the entire Bracken's Kitchen team, provided food to the most vulnerable members of the community, donating over 1.7 million free meals throughout the pandemic, In 2020, Bracken's Kitchen collaborated with local organizations to perform wellness checks and deliver fresh produce, cooked meals, masks, hand sanitizers, and much more to over 400 seniors and at-risk veterans.

CERT Leadership Council

The Garden Grove Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Leadership Council provided essential support to the City of Garden Grove and Garden Grove Police Department by regulating City facilities; administering traffic and pedestrian control, registration and radio communications at local mobile COVID-19 vaccine clinics; and assisting in face masks and meal distributions at the H. Louis Lake Senior Center. CERT Leadership Council members are Audria Chavira; Brandon Chavira; Katy Finch; John Lewis; Ted Oyama; Emilia Ramos; Daryl Roberts; Elizabeth Roberts; David Summers; Don Thorpe; Randy Williams; Mike Williams; and Debra Wilson.

Sam Chaalan, Toyota Place

Sam Chaalan, General Manager at Toyota Place, provided space, staff, marketing, and other resources to host the Accurate COVID testing site at Toyota Place. He also hosted community vaccinations in coordination with Orange County Health Care Agency.

Michelle Chupp

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Michelle Chupp created the Blue Ribbon project to uplift the community’s spirit through support for essential workers, including the Garden Grove Police Department’s officers. She placed nearly 900 blue ribbons around the city, and gave blue ribbons to families, business owners and community leaders at no cost. She's remembered as a positive influence to Garden Grove neighborhoods.

Farmers and Merchants Bank

When the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was introduced, Farmers and Merchants Bank employees worked long nights, weekends, and holidays processing PPP loan applications and implementing new technology to make the process simple and efficient for businesses. Farmers and Merchants Bank’s efforts totaled nearly $20 million, saving over 2,000 local jobs. Their focus then shifted to obtaining PPP loan forgiveness for their clients, with 99.9% of forgiveness applicants receiving full-loan forgiveness.

H. Louis Lake Senior Center Meal Distribution Volunteers

The H. Louis Lake Senior Center meal distribution volunteers are made up of Garden Grove residents and business owners who have dedicated their time to help distribute meals to the senior population every week. The volunteers are Mindy Luong, Trang Luong, Lisa Phan, Tue-Anh Ly, and Alex Trinh.

Paul Hoang

Paul Hoang is known throughout the community as a compassionate servant who helps those in need. His efforts to uplift the community include food distributions, managed at the Recess Room, and the Trek N Treat Walkathon at the Medal of Honor Bike and Pedestrian Trail.

The Home Depot Garden Grove

The Home Depot Garden Grove remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing excellent customer and emergency home repair services. The Home Depot Garden Grove also sponsored home goods while grocery stores experienced shortages.

Thanh Huynh

Garden Grove resident Thanh Huynh led the operations and logistics of a collaboration that provided over 80,000 cooked meals to individuals in need. His act of heroism took place throughout Garden Grove and Orange County serving an average of 500-700 isolated seniors weekly.

Kerostena Mediterranean Grill

Kerostena Mediterranean Grill has kept its doors open during the COVID-19 pandemic. Former owner Hatem Nico has provided meals to local children at no cost. He made hand sanitizer and offered the essential item to the community for free.

Mary Luna, Radio Suerte

During the pandemic, Mary Luna worked tirelessly at her small, low-power radio station in Garden Grove to keep the public informed about news and information. She also donated food to those in need.

The Maher Family

Garden Grove resident, Michael Maher and his two daughters, Maddie and Kaitlyn, organized a share table at Edgar Park, on the corner of Cerulean and Topaz Street. Residents were encouraged to take what they needed and share what they didn't need. Items included bags of food, toilet paper, face coverings, gloves, and hand sanitizer.

Pam McKee, Pam's Place

Pam’s Place owner Pamela McKee is a Garden Grove resident who is passionate in serving the community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pam’s Place remained open, ensuring job retention for her staff. She also supported local non-profit organizations.

Nizam Muthaliph, 7-Eleven

As a community organizer, Nizam supported a number of City of Garden Grove and Garden Grove Police Department's functions and events during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through his relation with 7-Eleven, he also donated food and essentials to local non-profit organizations.

Jason Nguyen

Creating health awareness, while bringing the community together, Jason brought free Zumba classes to the Civic Center Park and allowed anyone and everyone to join for free every Sunday morning.

Lorraina Pang, NOVA Kitchen and Bar

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lorraina made the executive decision to save the jobs of those employed at NOVA Kitchen and Bar. She also gave all employees toilet paper and masks for free. She was involved with providing groceries to families in need and essential workers through Project M&M.

Bhikkhuni Dieu Phuoc, Vien Minh Temple

Bhikkhuni Dieu Phuoc of the Vien Minh Temple donated 100 individually wrapped meals to essential workers at the City of Garden Grove.

Maria Ortega

Maria Ortega has provided extraordinary leadership, skill and compassion, assisting the people of Garden Grove during the challenging months of COVID-19. She has been designated an Orange County Hero of the Pandemic, by the Celebration of Heroes.

Raena Ramirez, Miss Garden Grove 2020-2021

As Miss Garden Grove 2020-2021, Raena represented the community with grace and heart. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she embraced the extra year of service to support the community. Her efforts go beyond the crown and sash, inspiring young Garden Grove women to meet their true potential.

Jeanine Rountree

Jeanine Rountree is part of Operation Be Kind and has donated bags filled with school supplies multiple times to the Garden Grove Police Department for distribution to families in need.

Southland Integrated Services, Inc.

Founded in 1998 in response to the urgent health needs of the large medically-underserved population in the community, Southland Integrated Services, Inc. has helped to enroll thousands of uninsured children and adults to state-sponsored health insurance programs.

Patti Widdicombe, Widdicombe Enterprises, Inc. dba McDonald's

Through the McDonald's "Thank You Meal" program, Patti Widdicombe, owner and operator of Widdicombe Enterprises, Inc., worked diligently to ensure frontline heroes, such as the Garden Grove Police Department and Garden Grove Public Works Department, were fueled as they combatted COVID-19. In addition, several COVID-19 vaccine clinics were held at local McDonald’s with patients receiving free menu item vouchers to any participating restaurant.

Women's Civic Club of Garden Grove

Members of the Women's Civic Club of Garden Grove sewed handmade masks, which were donated to the participants of the H. Louis Lake Senior Center's home delivery meal program.