Warner Pacific College honors Assistant Fire Chief for Clark County Fire District 3 with top student award

PORTLAND, Ore. – Warner Pacific College honored Donavon Mattern, Assistant Fire Chief for
Clark County Fire District 3, with the Dr. Wilma I. Perry Award during commencement ceremonies May 9, 2009 at New Hope Community Church, in Portland. The award, named in honor of a former professor at the college, is given twice a year to an outstanding student from the college’s Adult Degree Program. Mattern graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

In his position with fire district, Mattern not only supervises firefighters in his company, but also serves as the negotiator between the firefighters’ union and the county. Over his many years in this role, Mattern has grown to be highly respected for his ability to deal honestly and fairly with both sides. In addition, he mentors younger firefighters and has been a leader in encouraging them to continue in their own college education, serving as a powerful model for how it can be done well.

“Donavon maintained a unique balance of being a leader among his peers while also eagerly and deeply investing himself as a learner,” said Dr. Toni Pauls, Dean of the Adult Degree Program. “His standards for teamwork are very high, while at the same time he provided a great deal of support for his teammates to aspire to reach those standards - not for him, but for them.”