Opinion : Who are the people in your neighborhood?

There are things that I absolutely love about this job, that wouldn't be the part where I have to figure out technology, but the part where I get to meet some of the most awesome people in our corner of the world. 

Last weekend was a flurry of activity as I covered the Izaak Walton League's Jakes Day, Garrison's Fun Day and then took a break to visit the Grovert family in Newhall. The emotion of the different events has you shifting gears from lighthearted fun to a different kind of fun. The kind that makes you realize the sacrifice made by our veterans can never be appreciated enough. But when there are small ways that we can say thank you, it is one of the most fun things that you can do. 

The other events on Saturday were fun to see, but the highlight was getting to meet Don and Joan and some of their family. It was obvious in talking with and listening to the children talk about their parents the love and respect they had for the couple.  Even during the time of the presentation, it was obvious that even though Don had spent time overseas, he wasn't one to brag about his service or how great he was because of it, but he is a humble man that simply did what needed to be done. That is the greatness that was in the room that day. 

Two people that started out their lives serving for millions of people that they didn't even know.

Also in the room was a gal that again is on a mission, but won't brag about how what she's doing is as awesome as well, by honoring our military. Rita Moore is on a mission and I think it's to honor every veteran in her corner of the world with one of her quilts. 

She's a gal that doesn't like to brag about what she does, but her passion for this project is obvious in the work that she does. The hours she spends over her sewing machine to make the Quilts of Valor event possible for Benton County Veterans is a labor of love. 

While in the room with these three greats, it's hard not to realize that these are the people that should be honored more often. The ones that serve others.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the next bad guy that crosses our screens and the bad things that happen, but we need to shut off the news and look around and just find the good people to recognize. 

As I watched the week before some of our local officers take some time out of their day to spend it with our youngest citizens, while it was just to have fun, there was an effort to know these children and to help them feel safe. To give them the understanding that someone cares about them. Again more people serving the thousands in our community. 

Yesterday I spent 4 hours sitting in government meetings where I saw our elected officials wading through mountains of paperwork while trying really hard to make the best decisions for our community. The county officials working together with the city officials and the city working for the good of the residents. Sometimes dealing with situations that are thankless jobs, others on projects that are being cheered by the community. 

In all of these places, there are people serving each other. 

At the same time that I sat in these rooms, I saw other people that had worked behind the scenes on some of these projects, quietly plugging away to find solutions to problems that we all knew that we had but didn't have the tenacity to figure out how to solve. Another guy that works his tail off to protect us when disasters hit, came simply to say, "thank you" to others that were serving the same community.

As I watched an out of town guy speak of our community I could tell that he was impressed with this little corner of Iowa and the people around us that we take for granted every day. We're used to our friends and neighbors.

A few weeks ago I watched in awe as several in our community took their Saturday morning to play a game of miniature golf with folks that don't have life as easy as most of us, but it wasn't as if it were a sacrifice to do that, but a heartfelt love of their community and the people in it.

In general, we're a pretty good little group, and we know it. These are the kind of stories that I love to write about. These are the important things in life, taking care of each other, in whatever small way that we can. But also taking a minute to thank those around you for making your life a bit better by being next to them.