Helping kids gives you wings, locals are discovering

There was a lot of bell ringing going on in Louisiana recently, as 75 angels got their wings.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana announced the 75 nominees for its 2007 Angel Award. A Schriever man, Dean Navarre, and a Houma man, David Liner, made the list.

The Angel Award is designed to recognize people who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to the state’s children by enhancing ay aspect of a child’s life, physically emotionally, creatively or spiritually.

The health insurer founded the award in 1995 and has honored 95 “angels” over the past 13 years.

This year, eight “angels” will be selected to receive grants of $20,000 each for the charity of their choice.

Liner was nominated by his friend and fellow Bikers Against Child Abuse member, Stacey Murphy.

“He’s just one of those people. He’s a good person. His joy comes from doing for others,” Murphy said.

Murphy explained the reason for her nomination of Liner comes from his work with BACA and the all-cop motorcycle organization that helps children through donations, fundraisers, safety events and fingerprinting, Louisiana’s Blue Knights, as well as the time he spends on his regular job as a child support enforcement office.

“He’s always out there doing for other people. He’s a very selfless guy,” said Murphy. “He’s always donating his time.”

Murphy was also touched by the love and care Liner shows his 13-year-old “daughter,” Christian.

Christian is not Liner’s biological daughter or even adopted, but that doesn’t matter to him. Liner said Christian spends her off-time from school at his home with the permission of her mother, a friend to whom Liner is grateful.

Liner and Christian go to BACA events and she rides with him on his bike, a Harley-Davidson Electric Glide Classic, which was once a Shriner bike, but has been repainted silver and navy blue.

“She [Christian] got into my heart and she’s never going to leave,” said Liner. “She’s as much my child as she can be without being a blood relative.”

Liner said Christian is already looking at a bike at the Harley-Davidson shop.

Liner got his BACA patch last April and said he is honored to be part of the organization, which helps out abused children. The organization does things like provides children with small biker jackets and gives them bike rides with the permission of their parent or guardian.

Liner’s biker name is “Tower” and Christian’s is “Queenie.”

Navarre was nominated by fellow Lions Club member Sarina Lirette for devoting his life to assisting crippled children and his years of work he has put into the Louisiana Lions Crippled Children’s Camp in Leesville.

“For the last 12 years he’s pretty much devoted himself to the Louisiana Lions Crippled Children’s Camp,” said Lirette.

In 2002, Navarre drove a tractor around the state of Louisiana (around the boot as far as Covington, then down to New Orleans) to raise money for the camp.

He stopped at a total of 22 schools along the way to give a speech and to show his tractor off to the kids.

The tractor trip, at 15 mph, generated about $65,000 for the camp and took 32 days.

“Sometime you get to wondering if anybody notices what you’re doing,” said Navarre. “I told my wife, ‘Well, I’m glad to know somebody notices all that I’m doing.'”

Navarre has been married to Shelley Navarre for the past 22 years or so. They met when he was the manager of a limestone yard and she was the manager of a Ramada Inn in Port Allen. The company that owned the yard would pay for employees to stay at the inn when they had long hours to work at the plant.

Navarre was born in 1951 without arms.

“To think of someone born without arms… Pretty much, I haven’t seen anything he hasn’t tried he hasn’t done,” said Lirette. “So, to me he is such an amazing person that he can overcome all that and still have a positive outlook on everything. That’s why I nominated him.”

Navarre attended the camp as a child and it changed his life and his grant money will likely go to it. The camp is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Navarre laughed re-telling how some of the young kids at the camp didn’t understand he didn’t have arms and one actually peeked inside his sleeve to check for his arm.

“He thought I had them under my shirt,” said Navarre. “And of course the little young staff came there and said, ‘Oh Mr. Dean. We sorry, Mr. Dean. We didn’t know he was going to do that.’ And I just started laughing.”

And as a side note, Navarre can light a cigarette with his feet.

The Angel Award nominees have been receiving their pins – a quarter-sized, silver angel wing – in the mail. Line and Navarre received theirs last Friday. The pin reads, “The Angel Award.”

Schriever resident Dean Navarre and Houma’s David Liner are among Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana’s 2007 Angel Award nominees. Navarre, pictured above driving his tractor, was honored for his work with the Louisiana Lions Crippled Children’s Camp. Liner’s nomination was based on his work with the Bikers Against Child Abuse. * Photo courtesy of Dean Navarre