Inspiring Examples - Mazda Announces Its First Three Community Heros

One deeply held corporate value at Mazda is omotenashi — the Japanese hospitality culture of putting other’s needs first, expecting nothing in return. With that, Mazda has been planning to name 50 community heroes that exemplify this spirit of selflessness. Today, Mazda announced the first three.

“This year has been full of challenges and we wanted to lean into our brand’s heritage of finding innovative ways to brighten people’s lives,” MNAO President Jeff Guyton said. “We were inspired to create the Mazda Heroes program to honor all those who are working tirelessly to uplift their own communities. We hope through Mazda’s acknowledgment of their efforts, they’ll feel empowered to continue to give back to those around them.”

Officially called ”Mazda Heroes: Honoring The Human Spirit’ program (Mazda Heroes),” the program is intended to shine a light on individuals across the country who tirelessly dedicated themselves to their communities throughout this very challenging year and acknowledge the impact their efforts have made on those around them.

Here are short overviews provided by Mazda of its first three Heros:

CHRISTIE PURVIANCE, ICU NURSE – THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS
As an ICU nurse it is not uncommon to work long, gruesome shifts — but Christie approaches these 15-hour days with deeply-rooted and unmatched compassion. Even when faced with devastating COVID recovery statistics, Christie held to her conviction of treating her patients like family. During the pandemic she has gone above and beyond to comfort patients in their darkest and sometimes final hours. She brings in photos of their families and helps them video chat with one another, leaves sticky-notes of encouragement, and comforts their loved ones. Nominated by her sister.

TRIANA DAVIS, TEACHER – BYRAM, MISS.
Remote learning has been a challenge for families across the nation, but for some, lack of home computers and internet access have made it especially challenging. At the height of the pandemic, Triana created and personally delivered custom curriculum to her students facing this situation to keep them engaged. Desiring to encourage her students when they missed out on the traditions of graduation, Triana also created special commemorative t-shirts, goodie bags, and custom-engraved medals. Nominated by her wife.
Watch Davis’ story here.

JASON ERDREICH, TEACHER – RANDOPH, N.J.
As a middle school shop teacher, Jason leveraged his technical skills to do more than teach online during the pandemic. Instead, he gathered a team of people with 3-D printers to help make over 12,000 pieces of PPE and other cost-effective equipment needed for shifting to back-to-school teaching environments. While students were remote learning, Jason designed STEM classes for the online format and offered them at little or no charge — in addition to reworking his own typical classes. Nominated by his wife.
Watch Erdreich’s story here.

More Mazda Heroes stories will be shared over the coming weeks. To learn more about these inspiring individuals and see their stories, visit the Mazda heroes webpage.

John Goreham is a long-time New England Motor Press Association member and recovering engineer. Following his engineering program, John also completed a marketing program at Northeastern University and worked with automotive component manufacturers. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American newspapers and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin