Photo: Donna Kleman, Jefferson Award winner from Abilene, where she volunteers her time as a police chaplain
---
At a dinner in Washington's Union Station last Wednesday night, the crowd of 500 or so gathered together and all misted up and shed a few tears in unison. And not once, but many times.
The Jefferson Awards will do that to you if you have a heart for a good story. And there are plenty of good stories at these awards, given annually to the most deserving among us. These are not awards or attaboys for the politicians and celebrities among us. These are the awards for real folks.
Midland's children are better today because of a woman named Vicki Jay. Vicki was the winner of this year's Jefferson Award from Midland, putting her on a list of past winners that includes educator Barbara Yarbrough (2006), Pastor George Bell (2005), Christmas in Action's Bobby Trimble (2004) and community leader Joan Baskin (1998) who does most everything in Midland.
Vicki's contribution deals with helping children handle their grief through Rays of Hope, a branch of Hospice of Midland. Recently, she gained national renowned when Rays' curriculum was offered to children who had lost a mom or a dad, a brother or a sister, or anyone else close to them, in the war.
Spreading the news of Rays of Hope at the Jefferson Awards helped the other community leaders to learn more about what she, her staff and her volunteers do, and maybe even take a program such as hers back to their communities. We were fortunate enough to be able to bring you the video of Vicki's presentation and she will surely be the first to tell you that hers what not the only moving, the only worthwhile story that was shared this week.
We heard the story of Geoffrey Canada, a man who runs Harlem's The Children's Zone school for the disadvantage.
Then there was the inspiring story of Andrea Blamble, an 18-year-old who has devoted her life to helping other kids like her -- suffering from the debilitating rhuematoid arthritis -- by establishing JACKS -- "The Juvenile Arthritis Club for Kids" -- in Columbus, Ohio.
Nancy Costello, from Salinas, Calif., told her story too: She has spent most of her her life delivering food, clothing and other needed items to farm labor families in California six days a week. And she still does it at 88.
Heidi Kuhn was another winner of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Public Service to the Community, like the ones above: Heidi has effectually taken up where Princess Diana left off. Through her Roots of Peace organization, the California native has launched a global effort to rid the planet of land mines and as of this week, 100,000 mines have been eradicated and the land where they once were turned into productive agriculture producing areas. She was honored not only by the Jefferson Awards, but by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan who said her work has "replaced the seeds of death with the seeds of life."
And then there is the heartbreakingly sad story of Kathryn Martin, who took the tragedy of losing her 2-year-old son CJ, as well as two other members of her family, to a tornado in Indiana. From her sadness came real change -- and quite possible life -- to many who may not have otherwise enjoyed it. After the May 2006 Otwell, Ind., tornado, which killed her son while he was spending the night with a friend, she built a playground in the mobile home park that was destroyed. But that wasn't enough. Kathryn also acquired a simple school bus and filled it with toys and other items to help children cope when a disaster affects them. Kathryn's intent is to have children board the bus while adults are tending to the effects of whatever tragedy has unfolded near them. But that wasn't enough either, so Kathryn lobbied long and hard before the Indiana State Legislature and changed state law, which now requires all mobile homes to come equipped with weather radios to give people advance warnings of approaching killer tornadoes.
The Jefferson Awards are inspirational. Not in just the hearing of these stories, but in the knowing that among all the problems we have, there are plenty of people working for good, providing hope and a future for our country. And it is all being done by regular people, who never look for the glory, but so often deserve it.
Thanks for sharing some great stories ..... and Washington's Union Station is an awesome setting for a gathering. The work they've done there has restored a so much of the sparkle that architectural jewel had lost over the years.
Posted by: Jeff | Friday, June 22, 2007 at 07:21 AM
It was a nice time, Jeff, you woulda liked it.
Posted by: Jimmy | Friday, June 22, 2007 at 04:59 PM