March 5, 2018 at 5:28 p.m.
Community is always ready to give
Editorial
Jay County Chamber of Commerce members hit a bullseye when they selected the young leaders of the National Honor Society as the 2017 Citizen of the Year honorees.
And if ever there were a group of young people that the community would love to have come back and establish their careers locally, this is the group.
Under the guidance of honor society sponsor Chrissy Krieg, last year’s seniors leading the organization launched an incredibly ambitious project, seeking to raise the funds to stage a MobilePack of more than 100,000 meals for Feed My Starving Children.
They worked, they hustled, they asked, they cajoled and mostly they made the importance of their message clear.
And the community responded.
That may be no surprise if you’ve been around the block a few times or a few decades.
But to the honor society’s young leaders, it was an eye-opener.
Every part of the equation came together: Great idea, energized advocates and a responsive, generous community.
And as it came together, those young leaders not only learned how much they could achieve and how much they were capable of, they also learned to treasure something about the community they’ve grown up in.
On Thursday, almost all of last year’s seniors involved in the project were able to make it home from college for the chamber’s annual community awards program.
And what they heard as they awaited word on their own particular award nomination could only serve to underscore the lessons learned last year:
•Young Professional of the Year Audrey Muhlenkamp spoke in heartfelt terms about her love of Jay County and how much it means to her to be launching a business here.
•Reda Theurer-Miller of Youth Service Bureau came to the podium to accept the award for Not-For-Profit of the Year and immediately turned to recognize the work of the other finalists — Jay County Cancer Society and Jay County Humane Society — and how those organizations have touched so many lives.
•Industry of the Year and Business of the Year winners stressed the importance of the work of their employees as volunteers for public service.
•And Joe Vinson, recipient of the Small Community Commitment Award, made volunteerism the focus of his remarks.
The message could not have been clearer: This is a community that knows how to give, and it’s full of fol]ks who are always ready to give back. — J.R.
And if ever there were a group of young people that the community would love to have come back and establish their careers locally, this is the group.
Under the guidance of honor society sponsor Chrissy Krieg, last year’s seniors leading the organization launched an incredibly ambitious project, seeking to raise the funds to stage a MobilePack of more than 100,000 meals for Feed My Starving Children.
They worked, they hustled, they asked, they cajoled and mostly they made the importance of their message clear.
And the community responded.
That may be no surprise if you’ve been around the block a few times or a few decades.
But to the honor society’s young leaders, it was an eye-opener.
Every part of the equation came together: Great idea, energized advocates and a responsive, generous community.
And as it came together, those young leaders not only learned how much they could achieve and how much they were capable of, they also learned to treasure something about the community they’ve grown up in.
On Thursday, almost all of last year’s seniors involved in the project were able to make it home from college for the chamber’s annual community awards program.
And what they heard as they awaited word on their own particular award nomination could only serve to underscore the lessons learned last year:
•Young Professional of the Year Audrey Muhlenkamp spoke in heartfelt terms about her love of Jay County and how much it means to her to be launching a business here.
•Reda Theurer-Miller of Youth Service Bureau came to the podium to accept the award for Not-For-Profit of the Year and immediately turned to recognize the work of the other finalists — Jay County Cancer Society and Jay County Humane Society — and how those organizations have touched so many lives.
•Industry of the Year and Business of the Year winners stressed the importance of the work of their employees as volunteers for public service.
•And Joe Vinson, recipient of the Small Community Commitment Award, made volunteerism the focus of his remarks.
The message could not have been clearer: This is a community that knows how to give, and it’s full of fol]ks who are always ready to give back. — J.R.
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