Rick Devore '13

By Angela (Grossmann) Roewe ’98

Rick Devore ’14 has a big heart, both on and off campus. Despite working full-time as a flight crew scheduler for the UPS, and pursuing his business administration degree at McKendree’s Louisville, Ky. campus, he still finds the time and energy to assist his fellow community members who have fallen onto challenging times.

Rick doesn’t look at helping others as “just” a civic duty; he sees it, rather, as a way of life. He is an active volunteer for the Neighborhood House in Louisville, Ky., which services the less-fortunate Portland area. The Neighborhood House’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty for these families.

“My goal is to ensure that every child at the Neighborhood House is provided a warm meal before they go home because nourishment is so very important to a child’s overall development,” Rick said. “When I volunteer my time, I often observe in excess of 50 hungry children. Knowing that warm meals are available to them provides me with the satisfaction that their nutritional needs are being met for that day.”

Through the years, Rick has also volunteered with many other organizations, including the Cerebral Palsy Kids Center of Louisville, Ky. One Halloween, he created a special night out for the center’s children and their families.

“In my head, I envisioned these children being able to go trick or treating in a safe environment that was equipped for their walkers and wheelchairs,” Rick explained. “At the time, I was working at the UPS facility that housed the original air hub for UPS and it was an accommodating spot to hold the event.”

While planning this night out, he thought of a friend who once confided in him that she had a physically challenged sibling growing up, and she often felt “cheated” out of many typical childhood experiences because she had to help care for him. Her story had quite the impact on Rick, so he made sure to include entertainment aimed at siblings during the event.

He received his “reward” when he felt a small tug on his shirttail while he was standing about 50 feet away from all the action. When he looked down, he saw a little girl who had walked quite a distance with her walker to get to him.

“She just looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes, smiled and said, ‘Thank you, Mr. Rick for giving me and my family a day of happiness’,” he fondly noted. “That was all the recognition I needed. I will remember that moment forever.”

When Rick’s not giving back or working at UPS where he has been employed for 23 years, he is striving to maintain his honor’s status in McKendree’s accelerated business program. An achievement that earned him membership in Sigma Beta Delta, an international business honor fraternity.