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Person of the Year
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| H&N photo by Ty Beaver: Debbie Vought has been selected as the Herald and News' Person of the Year for her work and dedication to the Citizens for Safe Schools program in Klamath Falls. |
Debbie Vought
By STEVE KADEL
H&N Staff Writer
Debbie Vought grew up in a Southern California household with an alcoholic mother. Her parents divorced when she was 13.
Instead of floundering, Vought got friendly guidance from some adults at her school.
“I found my solace and purpose in school,” she said. “I know the grief that comes with those situations. Conversely, I also know the power of a mentor because I had several.”
Today Vought, 47, is executive director of Citizens for Safe Schools in Klamath Falls. The nonprofit agency emphasizes the importance of character when working with young people. It also operates Kids in the Middle, which pairs adult mentors with children in fourth through eighth grade.
Citizens for Safe Schools’ vision is to create safe and drug-free communities as well as children of good character. For her role in building the organization, and her work in the community, Vought is the Herald and News’ Person of the Year.
Vought also accomplished a fundraising coup this year that will benefit many local social service agencies, particularly those focused on youths. She wrote a grant application in March that earned a $5.4-million, five-year federal grant.
Passion for youth
Vought was a Klamath Union High School English teacher in the late 1990s when a string of school shootings rocked the nation. One of them occurred at Thurston High School near Springfield.
It was that climate in which Klamath County District Attorney Ed Caleb met Vought.
“We discovered we had a mutual passion in keeping schools safe, and we became fast friends,” she said.
They talked about long-term solutions to violence in the schools. They began focusing on a “character counts” agenda, an idea that spawned Citizens for Safe Schools.
“Mentoring was the approach we started with,” Caleb said.
The idea was that caring adults would help show children a proper path, especially those in danger of going the wrong way. Kids in the Middle sprang up with volunteer mentors spending anywhere from one to three hours a week with a youth deemed at risk.
“Debbie provided expert training,” Caleb said.
There are now 55 mentors. The goal is to have 75 by next summer.
Citizens for Safe Schools originally was given office space in the district attorney’s office. It has since moved to 403 Pine St., where three fulltime employees and a Vista volunteer help Vought with programs.
Caleb is among her biggest fans.
“Debbie Vought is one of the most unique people I’ve ever met,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of people who live character and ethics, but Debbie does. She always maintains a positive attitude and is unfailingly dedicated to kids. She is just a remarkable person.”
Vought’s impact has reached beyond Klamath County.
Bob Wise of KOTI-TV in Medford recalled getting help from her as the television station launched its Southern Oregon Meth Project.
“After an initial meeting with Debbie, I realized here was a person who could be a great mentor for me and for Christina Anderson, who is the face of our project.”
Vought helped Wise fine-tune the meth project’s approach, advising him on how to take the message into schools and reach young people. She gave tips such as to be constantly moving in the classroom to keep youngsters engaged, and to remind them the adults were there to inform them, not tell them what to do.
The grant
Vought got notification in July that the $5.4-million grant had been secured.
“When you talk about my professional life, it’s definitely a highlight,” she said.
A big chunk of the grant will go toward school-based mental health services for children.
“I had to make the case in the grant for need,” Vought said. “Part of that argument was that we have a high number of children who suffer from these challenges. I’m thrilled a large portion of the money has been earmarked for school-based mental health.”
Carol Castle, project director for the grant, cheered Vought’s efforts.
“She put heart and soul into it and really brought a great opportunity to Klamath County,” Castle said. “Debbie Vought as Citizens for Safe Schools is a major reason this grant exists.”
Vicki Kaber, a Klamath County juvenile probation officer and a friend of Vought’s, helped with the grant application.
“What impresses me most about Debbie is that she’s 100 percent genuine,” Kaber said. “She is in it for all the right reasons. She really cares about kids. She’s the type of person who still tears up and weeps at the plight of an unfortunate kid. Her heart is so pure.”
Bob Kingzett, executive director of the Jeld-Wen Foundation, worked with Vought on the Steen Sports Park board of directors. He applauded her work in securing the grant.
“There were others who helped, but Debbie was the tireless worker, the go-to person to make that grant happen,” he said. “It was a crowning achievement, and we’re very fortunate to have her in the community. She is an outstanding lady.”
About Debbie Vought:
Age: 47
Family: husband, Eric, and sons, Danny, 23, and Jared, 21.
Occupation: Executive director of Citizens for Safe Schools.
About the grant: Children throughout Klamath County will have a better chance of academic success because of a federal grant secured by Debbie Vought of Citizens for Safe Schools.
Part of the five-year, $5.4-million grant will be administered through Klamath Falls City Schools under contract with Klamath Youth Development Center. Its goal is to remove barriers to learning due to emotional, psychological or social problems, said Richard Schuurman, a licensed marriage and family therapist.
He will be one of five clinicians who will each have an associate employee. Those two-person teams will work out of five public schools in the Klamath Falls and Klamath County school districts at what are called Family Access Network Centers, with Schuurman also acting as site coordinator. The schools have yet to be determined.
Schuurman said the centers would provide a variety of services, including:
-- Early identification and assessment of youths at risk for substance abuse or mental health issues.
-- Early intervention mental health services for at-risk children, adolescents, and their families.
-- Referral and follow-up with local public mental health agencies.
-- Training of school personnel to recognize early warning signs of substance abuse and mental illness.
-- Support services to families so they can participate in the healthy development of their children.
The grant money also would allow school officials to implement and supervise peer mediation programs. Another goal is to deliver mental health services for youths with more serious mental health problems, while enhancing communication and information sharing among service agencies.
Schuurman said the approach is non-traditional because it works closely with parents and other adults rather than simply meeting with a child for one-on-one counseling, although that format will be used as well.
He said the school-based program is similar to employee assistance programs that offer mental health services to workers.
“In many respects, school is their work,” Schuurman said. “Anything we can do to improve their school functioning is not only of importance to them, but also to their families and to society as a whole.
“This is all based on the proposal Debbie Vought put forward.”
Mentoring a family: Tom Harris’ three children are participants in the Kids in the Middle program through Citizens for Safe Schools. They are sixth-graders Tanner and Kaleb, and fifth-grader Kaitlyn.
“I talked with (Debbie Vought) at the beginning of the process last year,” Harris said. “It runs really smooth. We haven’t had any hiccups.”
He said it’s tough raising children without a mother in the family, and Kids in the Middle mentors have been a wonderful resource for the youngsters.
“Their mom left,” Harris said. “Just having stability, someone they know will be there, is helpful. I work fulltime farming and ranching so I don’t have much time.
“It (mentor program) has been a godsend to me. The kids have somebody they can talk to besides me. My kids are doing better in school and they’re happy.”
Support from home: A supportive husband helped Debbie Vought build Citizens for Safe Schools from scratch. Eric Vought said his wife wanted a change from teaching school, and together they made it work despite Debbie being unpaid for the first two years.
“She obviously saw the need,” Eric said, “and she wanted to work at her own pace instead of answering a bell. It just so happened that my dad died just before that. He left me some money, and that was just enough to cover her loss of income while she did this.”
He said Debbie doesn’t view her job as simply an eight-to-five commitment.
“She gets phone calls all the time from people who know kids who are having problems,” Eric said. “We get strange phone calls at off hours. She will drop what she’s doing and deal with it.”
What others say: Steen Sports Park CEO and president Dave Steen described Debbie Vought as decided and loyal to youth and her community.
“She is a workaholic,” he said, “and she just does a fabulous job in this community.”
Gayle Yamasaki is a volunteer mentor for Children in the Middle. She said Vought was instrumental in finding just the right match between mentor and mentee.
“I really wanted to work with a multi-racial child,” Yamasaki said. “Given the demographics of our community, there isn’t a lot of that fit. But she did a great job finding the right fit for me and for the young girl.”
She said Vought is always accessible, and has the gift of being a good listener.
“She has been absolutely vigilant in being kid centered,” Yamasaki added. “Deb is faithful to the mission.”
Dan Keppen and Vought served together on the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce board of directors and both volunteered to help pass school bond measures.
“What makes her successful is her passion,” Keppen said. “She is passionate about the job she does with the kids, and she is a communicator. She is inspiring to a lot of people because of those things.”
Dan Golden, assistant director of the Klamath County Juvenile Department, said Vought has presented helpful programs at the juvenile facility.
“One of them involved coming in with volunteers from Citizens for Safe Schools and talking with kids about their values, and their life choices and things that were important to them,” Golden said, adding the session was like a social skill building exercise.
“She has a strong commitment to helping educate kids who need to have a good example,” he said. “She’s had quite an impact on the community and has my highest regard.”
Instead of floundering, Vought got friendly guidance from some adults at her school.
“I found my solace and purpose in school,” she said. “I know the grief that comes with those situations. Conversely, I also know the power of a mentor because I had several.”
Today Vought, 47, is executive director of Citizens for Safe Schools in Klamath Falls. The nonprofit agency emphasizes the importance of character when working with young people. It also operates Kids in the Middle, which pairs adult mentors with children in fourth through eighth grade.
Citizens for Safe Schools’ vision is to create safe and drug-free communities as well as children of good character. For her role in building the organization, and her work in the community, Vought is the Herald and News’ Person of the Year.
Vought also accomplished a fundraising coup this year that will benefit many local social service agencies, particularly those focused on youths. She wrote a grant application in March that earned a $5.4-million, five-year federal grant.
Passion for youth
Vought was a Klamath Union High School English teacher in the late 1990s when a string of school shootings rocked the nation. One of them occurred at Thurston High School near Springfield.
It was that climate in which Klamath County District Attorney Ed Caleb met Vought.
“We discovered we had a mutual passion in keeping schools safe, and we became fast friends,” she said.
They talked about long-term solutions to violence in the schools. They began focusing on a “character counts” agenda, an idea that spawned Citizens for Safe Schools.
“Mentoring was the approach we started with,” Caleb said.
The idea was that caring adults would help show children a proper path, especially those in danger of going the wrong way. Kids in the Middle sprang up with volunteer mentors spending anywhere from one to three hours a week with a youth deemed at risk.
“Debbie provided expert training,” Caleb said.
There are now 55 mentors. The goal is to have 75 by next summer.
Citizens for Safe Schools originally was given office space in the district attorney’s office. It has since moved to 403 Pine St., where three fulltime employees and a Vista volunteer help Vought with programs.
Caleb is among her biggest fans.
“Debbie Vought is one of the most unique people I’ve ever met,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of people who live character and ethics, but Debbie does. She always maintains a positive attitude and is unfailingly dedicated to kids. She is just a remarkable person.”
Vought’s impact has reached beyond Klamath County.
Bob Wise of KOTI-TV in Medford recalled getting help from her as the television station launched its Southern Oregon Meth Project.
“After an initial meeting with Debbie, I realized here was a person who could be a great mentor for me and for Christina Anderson, who is the face of our project.”
Vought helped Wise fine-tune the meth project’s approach, advising him on how to take the message into schools and reach young people. She gave tips such as to be constantly moving in the classroom to keep youngsters engaged, and to remind them the adults were there to inform them, not tell them what to do.
The grant
Vought got notification in July that the $5.4-million grant had been secured.
“When you talk about my professional life, it’s definitely a highlight,” she said.
A big chunk of the grant will go toward school-based mental health services for children.
“I had to make the case in the grant for need,” Vought said. “Part of that argument was that we have a high number of children who suffer from these challenges. I’m thrilled a large portion of the money has been earmarked for school-based mental health.”
Carol Castle, project director for the grant, cheered Vought’s efforts.
“She put heart and soul into it and really brought a great opportunity to Klamath County,” Castle said. “Debbie Vought as Citizens for Safe Schools is a major reason this grant exists.”
Vicki Kaber, a Klamath County juvenile probation officer and a friend of Vought’s, helped with the grant application.
“What impresses me most about Debbie is that she’s 100 percent genuine,” Kaber said. “She is in it for all the right reasons. She really cares about kids. She’s the type of person who still tears up and weeps at the plight of an unfortunate kid. Her heart is so pure.”
Bob Kingzett, executive director of the Jeld-Wen Foundation, worked with Vought on the Steen Sports Park board of directors. He applauded her work in securing the grant.
“There were others who helped, but Debbie was the tireless worker, the go-to person to make that grant happen,” he said. “It was a crowning achievement, and we’re very fortunate to have her in the community. She is an outstanding lady.”
About Debbie Vought:
Age: 47
Family: husband, Eric, and sons, Danny, 23, and Jared, 21.
Occupation: Executive director of Citizens for Safe Schools.
About the grant: Children throughout Klamath County will have a better chance of academic success because of a federal grant secured by Debbie Vought of Citizens for Safe Schools.
Part of the five-year, $5.4-million grant will be administered through Klamath Falls City Schools under contract with Klamath Youth Development Center. Its goal is to remove barriers to learning due to emotional, psychological or social problems, said Richard Schuurman, a licensed marriage and family therapist.
He will be one of five clinicians who will each have an associate employee. Those two-person teams will work out of five public schools in the Klamath Falls and Klamath County school districts at what are called Family Access Network Centers, with Schuurman also acting as site coordinator. The schools have yet to be determined.
Schuurman said the centers would provide a variety of services, including:
-- Early identification and assessment of youths at risk for substance abuse or mental health issues.
-- Early intervention mental health services for at-risk children, adolescents, and their families.
-- Referral and follow-up with local public mental health agencies.
-- Training of school personnel to recognize early warning signs of substance abuse and mental illness.
-- Support services to families so they can participate in the healthy development of their children.
The grant money also would allow school officials to implement and supervise peer mediation programs. Another goal is to deliver mental health services for youths with more serious mental health problems, while enhancing communication and information sharing among service agencies.
Schuurman said the approach is non-traditional because it works closely with parents and other adults rather than simply meeting with a child for one-on-one counseling, although that format will be used as well.
He said the school-based program is similar to employee assistance programs that offer mental health services to workers.
“In many respects, school is their work,” Schuurman said. “Anything we can do to improve their school functioning is not only of importance to them, but also to their families and to society as a whole.
“This is all based on the proposal Debbie Vought put forward.”
Mentoring a family: Tom Harris’ three children are participants in the Kids in the Middle program through Citizens for Safe Schools. They are sixth-graders Tanner and Kaleb, and fifth-grader Kaitlyn.
“I talked with (Debbie Vought) at the beginning of the process last year,” Harris said. “It runs really smooth. We haven’t had any hiccups.”
He said it’s tough raising children without a mother in the family, and Kids in the Middle mentors have been a wonderful resource for the youngsters.
“Their mom left,” Harris said. “Just having stability, someone they know will be there, is helpful. I work fulltime farming and ranching so I don’t have much time.
“It (mentor program) has been a godsend to me. The kids have somebody they can talk to besides me. My kids are doing better in school and they’re happy.”
Support from home: A supportive husband helped Debbie Vought build Citizens for Safe Schools from scratch. Eric Vought said his wife wanted a change from teaching school, and together they made it work despite Debbie being unpaid for the first two years.
“She obviously saw the need,” Eric said, “and she wanted to work at her own pace instead of answering a bell. It just so happened that my dad died just before that. He left me some money, and that was just enough to cover her loss of income while she did this.”
He said Debbie doesn’t view her job as simply an eight-to-five commitment.
“She gets phone calls all the time from people who know kids who are having problems,” Eric said. “We get strange phone calls at off hours. She will drop what she’s doing and deal with it.”
What others say: Steen Sports Park CEO and president Dave Steen described Debbie Vought as decided and loyal to youth and her community.
“She is a workaholic,” he said, “and she just does a fabulous job in this community.”
Gayle Yamasaki is a volunteer mentor for Children in the Middle. She said Vought was instrumental in finding just the right match between mentor and mentee.
“I really wanted to work with a multi-racial child,” Yamasaki said. “Given the demographics of our community, there isn’t a lot of that fit. But she did a great job finding the right fit for me and for the young girl.”
She said Vought is always accessible, and has the gift of being a good listener.
“She has been absolutely vigilant in being kid centered,” Yamasaki added. “Deb is faithful to the mission.”
Dan Keppen and Vought served together on the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce board of directors and both volunteered to help pass school bond measures.
“What makes her successful is her passion,” Keppen said. “She is passionate about the job she does with the kids, and she is a communicator. She is inspiring to a lot of people because of those things.”
Dan Golden, assistant director of the Klamath County Juvenile Department, said Vought has presented helpful programs at the juvenile facility.
“One of them involved coming in with volunteers from Citizens for Safe Schools and talking with kids about their values, and their life choices and things that were important to them,” Golden said, adding the session was like a social skill building exercise.
“She has a strong commitment to helping educate kids who need to have a good example,” he said. “She’s had quite an impact on the community and has my highest regard.”
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Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of HeraldAndNews.com. Comment Disclaimer: The editors of heraldandnews.com reserve the right to refuse publication of any comment posted for consideration. We may refuse for any reason, including use of profanity, disparaging comments, libelous comments, etc. Any reader who notices a comment they believe is particularly offensive, should notify us at webmaster@heraldandnews.com.
Vicki wrote on Jan 2, 2009 6:16 PM:
" I can't think of anyone more deserving than Debbie! She is truly an amazing woman and we should be thankful for having her in our community!
Congrats!! "
Congrats!! "
Michele wrote on Jan 2, 2009 9:18 AM:
" Debbie Vought is a wonderful, caring person who certainly deserves this award! Congratulations to you, Debbie, and may your good work continue! "
Cheryl H. wrote on Jan 2, 2009 6:42 AM:
" Debbie Vought truly deserves this honor! She is one person that is helping to make Klamath County one of the greatest counties in our State.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Our youth are the upcoming leaders of this community. Debbie sees the potential in every young person, and is there to help them achieve their goals and purposes. I consider it an honor to say that I know her! "
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Our youth are the upcoming leaders of this community. Debbie sees the potential in every young person, and is there to help them achieve their goals and purposes. I consider it an honor to say that I know her! "
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wonderful wrote on Jan 2, 2009 10:39 PM: