When LaDonna Bornemann nominated Canadian County Citizen of the Year Amanda Havern for that recognition, she said it was like nominating her second mother.

Bornemann met Havern while she was in grade school at Banner and Havern was her basketball coach.

Bornemann said the two hit it off, and it’s a friendship that has spanned decades.

When she nominated Havern, Bornemann said her friend deserved the honor because of all the work she has done with children and how many she’s helped, as well as a church program Havern spearheaded in 2000.

“For many years, numbers of children have come and gone and come and gone again, and probably came back once or twice more for the smile or hug, for the genuine warmth this special woman gives others,” Bornemann wrote.

“Throughout her professional life she gave to others day after day and now continues to give of herself during retirement.”

Havern said she is humbled by the honor, especially since it falls in such a special year — her 40th wedding anniversary and her 60th birthday.

“I have lived in Canadian County most of my life, it is a wonderful place to be,” Havern said.

The icing on the cake — or perhaps the lid on the cookie jar in this case — is the prize Havern won for her honor, a cookie jar created by
Bornemann’s mother, Kay Bornemann.

She said the cookie jar was made to look like a chicken coop and Kay Bornemann’s local extension club filled it with cookies — cookies, Havern said, she is sharing with her grandsons.

Bornemann said Havern saw a need for speech pathology in rural Canadian County and, armed with a degree in the field — Havern said she previously worked at Bethany Guidance Center — she began a cooperative between kindergarten through eighth-grade classes at Darlington, Riverside and Banner.

“Her circuit-riding services kept her hopping from one rural school to the next helping students with speech and language problems, and also tested others for vision and hearing,” Bornemann said. “At least two generations of parents are aware of Amanda’s talent with students, not only through the public schools, but also through the American Red Cross.”

Havern has been a certified Red Cross water safety instructor since the mid-1960s, Bornemann said, and for many years taught children swimming lessons in her own backyard swimming pool.

“The number of lives and families she has touched over the years through the swim program are unknown; however, each and every day one can measure the magnitude of her service by the smiles and hugs she gets from former students who are so grateful for her genuine love and care,” Bornemann said.

Havern served on the Canadian County Red Cross board of directors for three years and now holds the position of chairperson for that board.

But while summers were full of swim lessons, Bornemann said the fall, winter and spring months were full of another self-imposed volunteer job — a chef.

In about 2000, Bornemann said Havern — at the encouragement of her husband, Tim — began the Wednesday night Family Night at El Reno’s Wesley Methodist Church.

“Family Night is an evening full of home-cooked meals and fellowship,” Bornemann said. “The evening is open to all who want or need a good warm meal for themselves, family and children ranging from church members to street people and those less fortunate.”

She said about 160 people are served every Wednesday evening, and with Havern’s coordination, she leads a group of volunteers who shop on Monday, pre-cook on Tuesday and final preparation and serving on Wednesday.

“The church and those who attend the Family Night are truly blessed to have someone like Amanda leading such a blessed activity,” Bornemann said.

Havern said none of her endeavors would be possible, however, without the support of her husband and others who have crossed her path.

“I could never have done it without the young people,” she said. “And my husband deserves so much credit for always being there. I am fortunate to have the family and the resources to do all this. Everyone deserves credit.”

Because, after all, Havern said, no one can do anything without help.

Havern serves on the Canadian County 4-H Foundation, the Canadian County Red Cross Board, served 10 years on the Canadian Valley Technology Center Board and now serves on that organization’s foundation board.

Havern said her number one job is as a grandmother to her six grandsons.

“She may have retired from the public school system in 2002, but she most definitely did not retire from serving others,” Bornemann said.