Maybe you’ve been reading the stories about the winning Red Cross Hometown Heroes who get go to the big fancy Heroes Ball at Antlers Hilton.  And if you haven’t, for shame: Go to gazette.com/yourspace  immediately to read all about them.

The Hometown Heroes certainly deserve the hoopla. 

There’s dental hygienist Michelle Vacha, who took out a second mortgage to start a mobile dental clinic to save the teeth of  nursing home residents. (BTW: Our plaque-fighting hero was just today named “Master Clinician” by the American Dental Hygiene Association. We can say we knew her when.)

And there’s 11-year-old Jamie Garscadden who has refused birthday gifts since she was 9 to instead collect  items to give to the needy. She doesn’t lament all the Bratz dolls she didn’t get to rip open.

And next week there’s …. uh, well, I can’t tell you who it is yet. You must wait until Monday to read the story about  [blank]  who [OMG, you will be  impressed what she did]. The story posts on gazette.com/yourspace on Monday and runs in print Tuesday.

Maybe you’re like me, someone who has never done anything heroic. No problem.

Here’s your chance to rub elbows with the heroes and maybe it will rub off. 

You can win tickets to the April 2 ball in an online random drawing by going to  http://gazette.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=13460.  Not only that,  you’ll  ride to the ball in style. A big honking Red Cross emergency response vehicle will come to your house to pick up you and your date. And give you a ride home. You will finally have something to brag about. I wish I could enter.

Here’s a video of Jamie. In case it doesn’t magically appear here, the URL is; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FawHzdhV1Ec. See previous blog post  (headlined: Yes, Virginia, there is a tooth fairy)  for video of Michelle.

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