There aren’t many places where the word hero is as easily defined as it is in Yolo County.

That’s because the county has many examples of hometown heroes present all around us who are often unaware of the effect they’ve had on the people around them.

The Woodland Daily Democrat aims to fix this by highlighting them in a joint project with a dozen other north-state newspapers that are part of the California Newspaper Partnership. We asked our readers to nominate someone they know and admire to be our second-ever “Yolo County Hero.”

Five fantastic nominees who have proven to be heroes in Woodland or Yolo County in one way or another have been selected to show what it means to be a hero in Yolo County.

Next on our list of nominees is Al Eby of Visit Woodland, who continues to show how vibrant Woodland can be, one event or hallmark moment at a time.

“I’d just like to thank Al for his many efforts to bring our Woodland community together for over a decade.” said Paul Bridge, who nominated Eby and was last year’s inaugural “Yolo County Hero” winner. “Recently, he inspired the entire city by establishing and organizing the first annual Ice skating rink.

“My family and I really enjoyed the venue downtown and witnessed the joy many were having ice skating for the first time. I also witnessed Al and his wife, Sandy, working many hours, ensuring all the preparations were completed months before the rink opening and during the event. It was very popular and has really brought hope and optimism back to our Yolo community. Al and his wife have been instrumental in revitalizing downtown Woodland.”

Eby’s plaudits in Woodland extend back to 2017 when the Woodland City Council recognized him for his efforts to continue a half-cent sales tax, Measure F, as well as his tireless work to organize and pull off the city’s first California Honey Festival, which has grown exponentially since its inception, welcoming thousands to the area ever year.

“If you don’t have people with the same vision or understanding or are at least open-minded, it’s hard to get things done,” Eby said. “You have to have a council and city willing to work with you, see your vision, and embrace it. (Woodland City Manager) Ken Hiatt is absolutely crucial for the city. He was one of the people who started understanding where I was coming from and what I wanted to do.

“When I came up with the Honey Festival idea, the city was all for it, and getting that support was instrumental. I then approached the Woodland Hoteliers group, and they allowed me to get it done.”

Along with gracious funding from the Woodland Hoteliers Group, which sponsors many of the significant events in Woodland, Eby has a great support system at Visit Woodland as well, mentioning how invaluable Emilia Zarate is to the whole operation.

“I am super grateful for her,” Eby said. “She is a workhorse. She handles social media, and without a doubt, she lifts the heavy stuff, organizes, fills out paperwork when we need it, attends meetings, and works late hours if I can’t be there. She is extremely instrumental, and I’m so lucky to have her. I drive her crazy sometimes because I’m so demanding, but we both get through it. We are the ones out there, along with Sandy, picking up garbage after the vents because we want to leave it better than when we got it.”

The dynamic group that includes Eby, Visit Woodland staff and the Woodland Hoteliers Group have played significant roles in bringing major events to Woodland, including the aforementioned California Honey Festival, the C10 Intervention Truck Show, Woodland Street Cruiser’s Back to the Street Car Show, the Global Rice Fest, the Norcal Celtic Festival, the Yolo County Farmworker Festival, the recent FIRA USA event, seasonal events such as this year’s downtown Trick or Treat event, the Tree Lighting Ceremony, the opening of the Woodland Holiday ice rink in Freeman Park and the upcoming BerryFest, set to grace the Yolo County Fairgrounds in May.

“People don’t realize how influential we are in bringing these events here,” Eby said. “That is why we are trying to show all the cool things Woodland does. We make sure we get as much attention for Woodland and Yolo County.”

Eby, who owns the Blue Wing Gallery at 405 Main St., was also one of the pioneers in organizing the First Friday Artwalk, which continues to light up downtown Woodland and Heritage Plaza every first Friday of the month.

Eby could relax and enjoy what he’s helped build, but his motivation to make Woodland live up to its vast potential keeps him going.

“I live here,” Eby said. “I want to have a cool town. I want to do as much as I can and make improvements, and hopefully, people will see that if you put hard work into something, you can make the town a better place. I want to show our town off and show that the city of Woodland can be a destination.

“We have had people move here because of the California Honey Festival. They liked what we were doing, they loved the energy the town had, and I think that is so cool. It means people can recognize what we are doing. The ultimate reward is people coming up to you saying this event was so much fun and that they will come out next year. That means the event hit its mark and accomplished what we wanted.”