Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel and the COVID-19 Response Team recently announced the fourth week of COVID-19 Hero nominations for the first week of March. Nominations are recognized in a video posted weekdays on the Chautauqua County Government Facebook page, and each nominee receives a personal note from the County Executive’s Office.

“The individuals recognized this week again demonstrates the variety of ways people step up to help others in Chautauqua County,” said County Executive PJ Wendel. “I want to again personally thank our week four nominees: Theresa Salgado, Amy Romanik, Jennifer Sawulak and Unit 1A at Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation, Cathy Byrne, and Sara Joly. These individuals have risen to the challenge of helping others during a global pandemic, and are truly our COVID-19 Heroes.”

Theresa Salgado is a baker at Tim Horton’s in Dunkirk and has worked every day since the beginning of the pandemic. She handles a lot of responsibility, arriving to work at 2:30AM every morning to make food and donuts for the day’s customers. Her family especially is very proud of her for what she does for her family and others in the community.

Amy Romanik is the Emergency Management & Safety Coordinator for Brooks Memorial hospital and has also been working on the front lines of the vaccination clinics. Her organizational skills, knowledge, and professionalism have allowed them to provide numerous clinics for the community. Amy has a team to support her but the team is just as good as their leader, and she brings the right people together and gets the best out of them. Amy also serves her community as a volunteer firefighter.

Jennifer Sawulak is the unit manager of a dementia unit that became the COVID unit at Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Her nursing experience helped to save lives and comfort those who were lost. She and the staff of Unit 1A worked tirelessly not only to care for their COVID positive residents but also to learn new treatments and protocols. They worked as a team with immense compassion both for their residents and their families.

Cathy Byrne is the director and teacher at First Covenant Pre-School in Jamestown and is an extraordinary educator. While many pre-schools had to close, Cathy ensured they could provide a safe and nurturing atmosphere for the children. She works tirelessly to ensure cleaning and guidance measures are followed to keep staff and students safe. She keeps staff updated on all guidelines and ensures no shortcuts are taken with safety.

Sara Joly is a teacher in one of the highest needs special education classrooms in Jamestown Public Schools. She has been in the classroom with her students every day, while many other classes have been hybrid or remote learning. She has worked very hard to develop new ways to teach her students that are as safe as possible during the pandemic. Sara also works hard to help her students understand the need to be safe and new things they need to do to keep themselves and others safe.

Nominations will remain open through the end of March 2021. To view COVID-19 Heroes videos, visit www.facebook.com/ChautauquaCountyGovernment. To nominate an individual to be recognized, visit the COVID-19 informational page on the county website at chqgov.com, or the form directly at https://chqgov.com/form/covid-heroes .