A crowd of 200 people braved the storm Tuesday night to honor four local MCT community heroes.

Mauch Chunk Trust President Patrick Reilly addressed the attendees at the Mahoning Valley Country Club banquet hall about the importance of volunteering time to make the community better."Our definition of a community hero is the individuals in our community who volunteer and dedicate their time and talents to various local charities and organizations. Individuals we believe should be recognized for these efforts," Reilly said.This year four people were honored, each resume as impressive as the next, Jeffrey Bowe and Maureen Donovan of Tamaqua, John McArdle of Nesquehoning and Horace "Nick" Hawkey of Kunkletown.Reilly read a brief biography of each recipient before handing each an engraved plaque along with a $200 check to be donated to a charity of the volunteer's choice.Bowe is heavily involved in the Tamaqua area community. He serves on several boards in the town as well as volunteering in the Pennsylvania Pro Bono Program to help indigent people obtain free legal services. "The greatest reward is doing something for someone who doesn't even know you did it. But you know," Bowe said.Donovan has worked as a lifelong volunteer with the Red Cross and is currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for St. Luke's University Health System-Miners Campus. Donovan is the first woman to hold the position."I'm only a hero because I surround myself with heroes," she said.Hawkey has volunteered as "Santa" in various hospitals and the Dream Come True program.For the past 22 years he has worked to raise money for food as well as clothing for the Blue Mountain Food, Coat and Toy Drive."When you volunteer you never know how far it is going to take you. Its just the most rewarding thing in the world," he said.McArdle has been volunteering in the Cub and Boy Scouts of Nesquehoning for years, as well as serving as Fire Chief of Nesquehoning for 24 years and a volunteer firefighter for 37 years."The gift of time is the most important thing. One hour of time given to help someone cannot be replaced," he said.Besides the impressive hours volunteering these people were picked because, "they do not look for recognition," Reilly said.A committee of 11 people looked over the 22 nominees this year and had the hard job of narrowing all those names down to just four.To nominate an individual is as easy as giving information to a MCT employee, or giving a name to a past community hero. "It's on all of us to participate and help make the community something we want to be proud of," Reilly said.