We ask that all of our high school exchange students become involved in their community by doing some type of volunteer work and we are extremely proud of their efforts. Some students go above and beyond to be of service to others and that is the case with Richard and his firefighting host family. We would like to offer congratulations to Richard Kuklis as Sacramento CHI Volunteer of the Year. It is an award well deserved!
It was July 25th, 2015 that exchange student Richard Kuklis, from Slovakia, arrived in Calaveras County and officially became a member of the Tedder family. The Tedders and Richard had much in common, mainly a desire to be of service to those in need. You see, Richard was joining a family who had strong ties to the firefighting community. Richard’s host father and sister are Volunteer Firefighters, his host mother is a Chaplain for the Firefighters and his host brother is a Firefighter and EMT. It was expected that Richard would want to get involved in their community’s firehouse as a member of the Fire Explorer Scouts and since Richard envisioned someday being involved in Search & Rescue, it was a great match!
Little did we know that a little more than a month later Calaveras and Amador County would experience one of the most destructive fires in California history. The Tedders were evacuated from their home and Richard moved to his Academic Coordinator’s home. Within a day, Richard asked to live at the firehouse where his host family was and help in the fire relief efforts. Richard spent the next seven days at the Firehouse helping alongside his host family. The Tedders house was spared but many other families were less fortunate. Seeing the devastation and wanting to help, Richard continued in the Fire Explorer Scouts.
Months later Richard maintained excellent grades and on top of his studies put in shifts volunteering at his family’s local fire house. On June 4th, Richard graduated not only from Calaveras High School but from the Fire Academy . He hopes to return next year and receive his First Responders Training.
