Wright City resident Michael Rose and his wife Brittany don’t just give back, they have made it a point to ensure the next generation understands the value of giving back as well.

Rose, who is our most recent Hidden Hero award winner, is a tattoo artist in Wentzville. Rose and his Jammer Joint Tattoo shop have been in existence for 10 years, but it is not his artful designs that have earned him the honor of Hidden Hero, it is his giving heart.

Rose has donated thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of his time and resources to help a wide variety of causes in Warren County and the surrounding area.

Last year alone he worked with veterans groups, animal shelters, Make a Wish, local sports teams, FFA, Future Business Leaders of America and whole host of other groups to raise funds and help those in need. He also participates in fundraisers to help individual families who are dealing with tragic loss.

Rose said in addition to significant financial donations he also donates his time as a volunteer for a variety of different agencies and does other things like auction off tattoos, gift baskets and other such fundraising activities. He said in all he does about 50 to 60 different events a year to give back.

He said the organizations he chooses to support comes directly from his own clients at his tattoo parlor.

“If my clients ask me and it benefits someone I will do it,” Rose said. “As long as it is important to somebody it is important to us.”

One of the areas where Rose likes to give back most is for the kids. He and his wife have five children of their own: Coraline, 11; Jaxon, 9; Winter, 9; Mia, 6; and Deliah, 2.

“The kids help with everything we do,” Rose said, adding that it is important to him that his own kids learn the value of giving back. He said that he grew up in a difficult situation so he wanted to make sure his own children never had to experience the childhood he had, but he also wanted to instill in them the value of giving back to the community. He said that his kids have learned the value of giving back to such a degree that they have learned to put away any selfish desires, “because other people need more help right now.”

Another way Rose gives back is by participating in career fairs at area schools. During those career fairs he talks about his own role as a tattoo artist and provides kids with options they may have never considered before. He said at a recent career fair in Wright City his booth was the only one that had so many kids interested he actually had to turn people away.

He is also very active in his participating in school activities for his four oldest children who all attend school in the Wright City R-II School District.

He says during the school’s field days he helps by giving kids fake tattoos as a fun way to showcase creativity.

He also hosted a 10th anniversary event last year at Diekroeger Park that offered fun activities like go-kart races, bounce houses and other activities.

During one of the field days he participated in he spoke with Wright City West Elementary Principal Sara Meadows about providing murals for the school, which ultimately led to Rose painting a Wildcat-themed mural that now adorns the school. He said the project took about 30 hours of work over the span of about three weeks.

More recently Rose said that his wife and mother-in-law were at a Wright City First Friday event last year when they were approached by Mayor Michelle Heiliger and Alderman Ramiz Hakim, who asked them if Rose does larger scale murals than the one at the elementary school. This eventually led to Rose working with Wright City Downtown Revitalization Committee for a wall mural at the Wright City Veterinary Clinic. The mural depicts elements of Wright City’s history and the two-week long project is almost complete. Like everything he does, while he did charge for the materials, his time and work were offered to the community for free.