Four Perry residents received a share of $70,000 from Great Western Bank’s Great Gifts of Gratitude program.

Great Western Bank established the one-time program to reward those who have gone above and beyond for the bank location communities during these unique times. The four recipients from Perry are Brandi Valdez, Juan Meraz, Teresa Cromwell, and Sven Peterson. 

Cromwell was awarded $600 with an additional $100 from Hy-Vee for her work and effort to extend St. Patrick’s Catholic School’s summer meals program so students could pick not only pick up a meal for themselves, but bring food home for their family. Meraz also put in a lot of time this summer making sure area kids were properly fed and received a $300 award. 

Valdez, a Perry School District paraeducator, was nominated for her acts of kindness during the pandemic. She dedicated many hours to help with the District’s summer meal program, while even wearing fun costumes to help lift the students’ spirits. When she wasn’t handing out meals, she drove kids to and from school to ensure there were no obstacles to access a free meal. Valdez also opened her doors to a Perry family who lost their home to a fire in the spring. As she’s always looking for ways to help the community, Valdez has decided to give some of her $600 award to help a little girl pay for dancing classes. 

The largest award went to Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson. The nomination letter mentioned how in this year alone, Peterson has juggled the COVID-19 pandemic and the derecho storm, while keeping operations within the City of Perry on track. Peterson was awarded $1,000.

The Great Western Bank Perry branch had the most gift recipients of the central-Iowa area. Branch Manager Trace Schmitt says that a smaller branch in a less populated area having more submissions and winners goes to show how willing the Perry community is to lend a helping hand.