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.

Last on our list of nominees is lifelong Woodland resident Zachary “Ziggy” Alarcon — who has dedicated countless hours of time and effort to the community by organizing fundraisers and local events, working with nonprofits and making an impact with the youth in the community, all while following his own dreams and aspirations.

“My biggest motivation is just doing what I love and helping people out,” Alarcon said. “It’s a very fulfilling feeling, and I love it. Now, I can get worn out and experience burnout, but I still love it. It’s a passion of mine to make an impact and help anyone that I can. It all comes back to my love of helping people.

“It means a lot to me to be nominated. I do all this because I love it and want to make an impact. It’s where my heart lies. Another reason I do this is to inspire. I would love for someone to see what I do and realize they can also make a difference. It doesn’t take much.”

Alarcon currently works for ZA Management, a local entertainment company, where he helps coordinate event planning and execution while offering DJ, emcee, and professional announcing services. He also has client and community engagement responsibilities, along with marketing and outreach skills he uses to promote the company’s services and the nonprofits he works with.

Before diving full-time into ZA Management, Alarcon worked as an IT professional at Cache Creek Casino, working his way up the company after starting as a gas station employee. While he enjoyed the work and all that it came with, he felt it wasn’t fulfilling enough, so he decided to move on.

“As I got deeper into all my volunteer work, I decided to leave my job to focus on all I did outside of my career at the time,” Alarcon recalled. “I was making good money there, but it didn’t make me feel as good as giving back did. I decided to take the pay cut and do this work because I feel it means more. I’m able to make enough money to continue to pursue what I love to do, and I am grateful that my life has taken me to this point.”

Recent local events Alarcon has either hosted or led the way entertainment-wise include the Halloween on Main Street Trick-or-Treat event this past October, the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony late last year and a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus at Casa del Pan in Woodland, also late last year.

Recent hosting duties outside of his work with ZA Management include the annual Babe Ruth Crab Feed at the Yolo County Fair Grounds last March and the Woodland Police Department’s Toy Drive event at Velocity Island Park in December.

“When I got done with the Tree Lighting Ceremony, I was approached by another company that asked me to emcee parts of the Almond Festival,” Alarcon said. “When we do these events, there are a lot of people there, and they see that I can bring things to an event they didn’t think of, so a lot of my emcee work is booked word of mouth.”

While a consistent list of events would keep anyone busy enough, his work with ZA and hosting duties only serve as a precursor to his work in the community as a volunteer.

Alarcon works closely with Advanced Peace, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing cyclical violence in the local community. Last August, the organization held a backpack giveaway, giving out over 150 backpacks and essential school supplies to local youth ahead of the school year.

In the giveaway’s humble beginnings, around 75 backpacks were given out, but as the event has grown over the past three years, more and more backpacks have been given away.

“I work with Advanced Peace because of a lifelong friend who is now part of the organization,” Alarcon said. “I really believe in the cause and see the difference it makes in terms of promoting peace over violence. I can attest and say I’ve seen a lot of troubled youth. I was one at one point where I didn’t make the best decisions, but when I see what Advance Peace is doing, I can relate to the cause because it helps push people in the right direction instead of making the same mistakes repeatedly.”

Another example of his unwavering commitment to the community, especially the youth, is his work with the Pioneer High School Jr. Patriots program.

After coaching the 8U team for the past two years and making the PJP Football Championship game held at Bradshaw Christian this past November, Alarcon will be moving up with the squad to coach the 10U team this upcoming year.

“What I get from coaching is directly impacting the kids,” he said. “Face-to-face time helps me be a positive role model for these boys. I’m far from perfect, but I feel like through coaching, I can mentor a lot. I’m out there coaching football but doing much more than that. Being able to talk to them about school and being there for them thats what I love about coaching. It’s such a crucial time of their lives, too, and I’m in a spot where I can dictate who they will become. Being in that position means a lot to me. It’s really taken over my life.

“I had no coaching experience and had no football experience since high school. Sure enough, not even halfway through the year, I realized how big of a role it was. Now, I can’t get away from the game. As much as I get out of the mentoring, I also want to put out a good team.”

Alarcon makes sure to credit past coaches and a past teacher at Lee Middle School for instilling in him the values he wants to share with the community today.

“I think my motivation to do this comes from and goes back to my childhood and the appreciation I had for my coaches and teachers,” he said. “I was inspired by them to try to do a little bit more for everyone around me. A lot of what I do comes from them. When I did my first backpack giveaway a few years ago (2022), I reached out to an old teacher, and she gave me information to help provide specific supplies for people in need. That is an example of how I can call back and lean on the people from back then. Thats how I got into coaching as well. The teacher let me know a lot of these kids don’t have positive role models in their lives, and that’s where coaching came in.”

Along with everything he does, Ziggy finds enough free time to pursue another dream of being a recording artist. His music is available to listen to on Apple Music. His recent music videos do their best to promote and feature Woodland backdrops throughout Yolo County.

“That’s a huge part of who I am, and I’ve been doing it since I was a teen,” Alarcon said. “It’s a blessing that I can do it. I’ve gotten better at it, and the better I get at it, the more I enjoy it. I like to bring joy to people’s lives through music as well.”