Known as the “Battle Ground cheerleader,” “Pink Lady” and “Coffee Lady” by locals, resident Bev Jones has devoted her time to many different organizations in Battle Ground to better the community. With her nursing background and her parents as inspiration, community service is a vital aspect of Jones’ life.
Because of her volunteerism and work championing Battle Ground and its small-town culture Jones has been named The Reflector’s Person of the Year for 2023.
Parental inspiration in small-town Beaver
Jones grew up in Beaver, Oregon, a small, close-knit community where everybody knew each other, Jones said. Her childhood in Beaver helped foster her appreciation for small-town culture, according to Jones.
“It was a blessing to grow up in a small town. I didn’t think so at the time,” Jones said.
Her parents demonstrated community spirit during Jones’ childhood. They drove school buses, volunteered as firefighters and participated wherever their help was needed in Beaver. They were Jones’ role models, and their contributions inspired her love for volunteering, Jones said.
“They were the pillars of the community,” Jones said. “I’m happy to be living their legacy.”
Career in nursing
Jones dreamed of being a nurse since childhood, inspired by her older sister who completed nursing school. Jones graduated from Oregon Health and Science University and began her nursing career 46 years ago at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland.
During her nursing career, Jones worked in many different hospitals in Portland, Vancouver and even Hawaii.
Notable patients during her career included burn victims from the Mount St. Helen explosions at the Oregon Burn Center. She also helped treat the three loggers brought to their unit in critical condition.
“Their clothes were intact, and they had third-degree burns underneath because of the gasses,” Jones said. “Only one of the three survived.”
Though working bedside to care for patients was her favorite aspect of nursing, she also assisted with management during her career. From assembling care units to organ placement, Jones helped with many vital aspects of healthcare.
During her career, Jones assembled trauma care units by creating cardiac care teams that transported portable heart-lung machines on helicopters to patients in critical condition. It was “cutting edge” technology at the time, Jones said.
“I worked in the trauma ICU and was involved in setting up, not only the trauma hospital at Emmanual Hospital, but the whole trauma system for the state of Oregon,” Jones said.
Jones also worked in organ donation, assisting in the coordination of medical staff to perform organ assessments, placement preparation and surgery across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. She traveled between hospitals to speak with grieving families about organ donation. She also worked with medical staff to ensure organs were placed with recipients and that each case had proper documentation and authorization. Jones expressed reverence for donors and their families who choose to give something wonderful out of a horrible situation.
She remains in contact with some of the families she assisted during her time coordinating organ donation.
“I just had lunch with two donor moms. Their 19-year-old beautiful daughters were both killed in car crashes and were organ donors. This was 30 years ago,” Jones said.
In collaboration with the mothers, who lost their daughters, she helped pioneer meetings between organ donors and recipients, Jones said. She believes meetings have become more commonplace due to their work.
Volunteering in Battle Ground
Post-retirement, Jones keeps herself busy with volunteer work around Battle Ground. She is known as the “Pink Lady” and “Battle Ground cheerleader” among locally owned businesses. She volunteers with the Battle Ground Lions Club, Battle Ground Public School Family Community Resource Center, Battle Ground Senior Citizens and the Battle Ground Citizen of the Year committee.
One of Jones’ favorite events is “Pink Friday,” which happens the Friday before Black Friday in November. Donning an entirely pink outfit as the “Pink Lady,” Jones tours the locally owned shops of Battle Ground and takes photos to promote the stores by posting her tour photos and business highlights on Facebook. She said her support of local businesses earned her the title “Battle Ground cheerleader” from shop owners.
Jones has assisted the local schools as a member of the Battle Ground Lions Club. One of the is Maple Grove School, which can maintain its emergency snack supply through funding from the Lions Club. Parents with diabetic students must stock two months’ worth of snacks for emergency lows at the nurse’s office, Jones said.
“For families that are just getting by, that’s a big chunk of money,” Jones said.
Jones purchases the snacks and takes them to Maple Grove. She also consults parents, to ensure appropriate snacks are provided for each student, depending on dietary restrictions or allergies.
Jones has likewise assisted with snacks for Maple Grove’s Social Emotional Learning (SEL) room. Students in the SEL room often struggle from hunger, Jones said.
“A lot of the kids are just hungry. They can’t concentrate in class because they’re hungry,” Jones said.
Jones also volunteers at Battle Ground Public School’s Family Community Resource Center twice a week. Parents submit orders for clothing, and Jones selects and packs items from the clothing center to fulfill the order.
Jones also volunteers at Battle Ground Senior Citizens’ monthly luncheon, hosted at the Community Center on the second Monday of the month, where she’s known as the “Coffee Lady.” She pours coffee, refills cups and chats with attendees. The event provides a social gathering for over 150 seniors, Jones said. It is very important to Jones, as she loves aiding in social activities for seniors.
“I just think about the loneliness aspect,” Jones said. “For some of these people, this may be their only social outing for the month.”
As a member of the Citizen of the Year Committee and previous winner of the award in 2016, the nominations hold a special place in Jones’ heart. The Citizen of the Year award acknowledges one Battle Ground citizen for community accomplishments and contributions each year. Jones is part of the committee that reviews nominations. She said the nominations this year are looking like “stiff competition” and is excited for the results.
Finding love with “Mr. Volunteer”
Volunteering is important to Jones, and her husband of 19 years, Ken Steinke, matches her enthusiasm for community involvement, Jones said. She lovingly calls him “Mr. Volunteer” for his assistance in her projects and with the community. When not working on community projects, Jones and Steinke often spend their time driving their classic car.
“My hubby and I have a 1977 Triumph Spitfire,” Jones said. “We go on trips with a whole group, and we’re kind of like a rolling parade.”
Jones and Steinke’s love story began when they met 24 years ago at McMenamins on the Vancouver waterfront after she responded to his romantic advertisement in The Columbian.
“Why I answered his ad is because he wrote ‘I can fix things,’ ” Jones said. “I knew I was going to have a lot of things that needed fixing.”
Five years later, they wed on New Year’s Day.
Like Jones, Steinke is also a member of the Battle Ground Lions Club and assists the Citizen of the Year Committee. He drives the citizen of the year during the Harvest Day Parade in the couple’s 1977 Triumph Spitfire.
Jones has watched Battle Ground grow considerably over the past years, the small town transitioning into something larger. She believes her and Steinke’s work is part of what can keep Battle Ground’s traditions and small-town feel alive, even as the town continues to expand.
“I love Battle Ground because it does still have the small-town feel,” Jones said. “I think if we all work hard we can keep that.”
