Home Federal Bank named Dr. Richard Dew a Hometown Hero representing Sevier County

Home Federal Bank named Dr. Richard Dew a Hometown Hero representing Sevier County and presented a check for $2,500 in his name to Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic at a ceremony at Home Federal Bank's Sevierville branch at 307 Parkway on Monday, April 30.

The Hometown Heroes program spotlights ordinary people who do extraordinary things for others and their community. The public submitted more than 200 nominations, and eight winners were selected by a panel of judges to represent different parts of Home Federal Bank's service area in Knox, Anderson, Blount and Sevier counties.

A $2,500 donation is made in each honoree's name to the nonprofit of their choice, and an overall winner of the eight finalists will have an additional $2,500 donation made in his or her name.

There are so many great people that selflessly do an incredible amount of good for our community and never get the credit they deserve, said Home Federal Bank President Dale Keasling. People like Dr. Richard Dew, whose volunteer efforts help people in the community every day, exemplify what it means to be a Hometown Hero.

Dew, a retired family practice physician who had a 30-year career with the largest primary care practice in Oak Ridge volunteers at Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic, the only health care ministry in Sevier County that exclusively treats the medically uninsured who live or work in Sevier County. Dew volunteers one full day each week to treat patients and one morning each week to work with and teach third year medical students from East Tennessee State University's James H. Quillen School of Medicine.

Dew serves on the board of directors and is the medical director for the clinic, which currently has 16,000 uninsured patients of record. Dew, the author of Medicine with a Human Touch: Putting Patients First, is credited with treating each of his patients with dignity, respect and compassion.

Hometown Heroes is a win-win for everyone, said Keasling. We are happy to honor these Hometown Heroes and pleased to support these programs that do such great things for our neighbors throughout the year.

Mary Vance, executive director of Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic, accepted the donation on behalf of the clinic.