There is something pure and beyond reproach about the unsung heroes of a community. For little pay – in some cases no pay at all and with little to no fanfare – they perform the often-overlooked duties that are essential to the success of a community.
These are the people whose work, while cherished by the organizations that benefit from their efforts, often goes unnoticed by the public at-large.
Make no mistake: The wheels don’t turn without them.
It is the unsung hero who sets up the chairs for a meeting. It is the unsung hero who passes out flyers, puts up the decorations, answers the phones, collects the tickets at the door. And it is the unsung hero who tidies up long after everyone else has gone home.
They are invaluable, as any organization or event director will tell you.
They perform thankless tasks for the purest motives of all – a belief in the importance of the event, program or cause and a commitment to help, whatever the tasks might be.
Our community is blessed with good leadership among the organizations that serve us in so many ways. Those leaders are deserving of the recognition that comes their way.
But there are always others who work quietly, with little outside recognition, to translate the leader’s vision into a reality.
For 14 years now, Carolyn Lowry has been one of those unsung heroes, conducting tours at the Tennessee Williams Home, which has long been an important fixture in Columbus’ identity. She will soon be retiring.
For all those years, Lowry has been motivated by a sense of duty that she would like to see more citizens embrace. It’ s a pretty simple philosophy: You get out of a community what you put into it.
People like Lowry are the glue that binds our community. The results of their often unappreciated work is an example of giving back to the community by creating opportunities for residents to interact and build relationships.
We salute all the unsung heroes who make our community a better place to live.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
