"Part One: Change the World By Teaching Young People To Discover Their Own Heroic Potential" by Ralph Zuranski
This is Part One of the article appeared in the Coronado Eagle-Journal Newspaper on August 9, 2006
Who could have imagined the 1993 Coronado "In Search Of
Heroes Program" would have such a beneficial impact on
society? It created an entirely new, revolutionary social
perspective on “What is real heroism?”
The goal was to to help young people realize they have
heroic potential and that the real unsung heroes in society
are the moms, dads, grandparents, teachers, coaches,
spiritual leaders and local entrepreneurs who make a
positive difference in their lives...one day at a time.
There is no question our military, police, firemen who
protect our way of life, are also heroes.
Coronado visionaries Larry Wade and Dean Eckenroth from the
Eagle Newspaper, Dr. Jeff Davis, Dr. Margaret Wright, Diane
Peruse and Chris McClung from Coronado High School, Ron and
Vicki Beaubien, Ron Tretiak, Bill Sandke, Steve McMahon from
Coronado Cable Vision, Ken Roe, Manager at Peohe’s
Restaurant, Jim Laslavic from KNSD TV and members of the
Coronado Chamber of Commerce and Rotary joined forces to
teach the high school journalism and multi-media classes the
true meaning of heroism.
This may have been the beginning of the the social heroes
movement that is sweeping the country today. USA Today
recently featured a front page article titled "Volunteer
Rates Hit Record Numbers!" Newsweek just published an expose
on social volunteerism in their article “The Giving Back
Awards.”
Ralph Zuranski, creator of the “In Search Of Heroes
Program,” attended the 37th San Diego Comic Convention as
his alter-ego hero character Captain Biorhythm. The goal was
to search for real life heroes at the event he could
photograph and interveiw for the Coronado Eagle-Journal
Newspaper.
This was to be his victory tour that began in 1993 when he
took cub reporters to the 24th Comic Con to have them
interview the world’s greatest comic book writers, artists
and publishers. The first two heroes-in-training, David
Ganong and Laura Neale, participated in Jim Shooter’s
Defiant Comics “Good Guys” Comic Book Contest. The goal was
to create comic book characters based on the lives of real
young people.