Winnebago Co. Sheriff's Deputy Honored For Off Duty Work w/ Youth

This week's Hometown Hero was nominated for the time and effort he puts into volunteering with youth while he is not serving and protecting Winnebago County.

Matt Jarvis was nominated by his wife Audra and when you learn about Matt's life, it is nothing short of admirable.

As you'll read in his wife's nomination email, Matt not only put his life on the life every day for an entire county, he is always working hard at helping groups of young baseball players be the best humans possible.

My husband Matt Jarvis is the perfect example of a hometown hero. He has worked as a deputy for the Winnebago County Sheriff's department for 16 years. He has done many great things as an officer that would warrant him this award.

But the main reason I'm nominating him is because of all of his time he has volunteered as a youth sports coach. He has coached football, basketball and baseball for the past 8 years. He is such a great coach to all of these kids and has helped so many kids throughout the years not just with their sports but as he would always say "he wants them to be good humans."

He has not only impacted our 12 year old triplets and 8 year old son's lives but the many other kids he has coached. I have received many compliments on his coaching throughout the years not just from parents on our team but parents of kids on the other teams, other coaches and refs. I have had many parents ask how they can get their kids on his team because of the great job he does.

He uses a LOT of his personal time off at work to be sure to get to as many practices and games as he can. His motto to the kids is "work hard, have fun" which is what youth sports should be all about. We have had experiences with not so great coaches and it makes a world of difference to these kids to have an encouraging adult at their side pushing them to try their best.

These are just a few of the reasons that I feel Matt deserve recognition for all the time and effort he puts into making these kids better athletes and humans!

As a Q98.5 Hometown Hero, Matt will receive a $100 Amazon gift card thanks to Gustafson's Furniture & Mattress.

You can nominate your Hometown Hero HERE.

LOOK: Here are the 25 best places to live in Illinois

Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in Illinois using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.

On the list, there's a robust mix of offerings from great schools and nightlife to high walkability and public parks. Some areas have enjoyed rapid growth thanks to new businesses moving to the area, while others offer glimpses into area history with well-preserved architecture and museums. Keep reading to see if your hometown made the list.