The Holiday Season is upon us. There is snow on the ground here in Southeastern Kansas and the temperatures have been brutally cold the past few days. Because of the weather I have had a chance to catch up on some reading and to do some thinking about what's important in life. As always, I have reached the same conclusion...it's all about people.
One of our elected County Commissioners will end his term of service in just six more meetings. He has been a dedicated public servant during his five terms in office. It is clear to see that he is a little sad about leaving his post after doing so much good and working so hard for the people of this area. His presence at the courthouse will be missed. With him will be leaving many other county employees who will take advantage of the County's early retirement plan. The employees of Crawford County Government have been the recipients of kindness from Commissioner Pichler and the other Commissioners over the years. Without a doubt, Anthony Pichler cared about people. His constituents and his workers were always at the forefront of his mind in making decisions about the fiscal health of the county and the advantage county programming would bring to the people. His service will be missed.
I was also thinking about Maggie Fleming. A person for whom I have a great amount of respect. She is doing humanitarian work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I can barely express my feelings of admiration and sheer awe at the sacrifices she has made to pursue difficult work in dangerous surroundings. Her spot can be found at: http://www.learnafrica.blogspot.com/ She is a remarkable human being from whom great capacities of leadership will be displayed. Be careful if you read her blog though, because you will more readily appreciate what you have in your life and you might even be appalled at how petty some of our challenges are in comparison to the difficulties faced by the people she serves. I was appalled at myself and reading Maggie's blog allows me to be reminded of my ability to be humble and gracious.
The holidays would not be the holidays without family and friends. I am so grateful that I have been given the opportunity to spend more time with family since my move back home from Topeka. The position of County Clerk isn't always easy work but it is rewarding and it affords me the time to do things with my family. I have gotten to know Joy Marie (10 months) better at this age than I was able to know Jenna (3 years, 2 months) and Jameson (5 years, 10 months) when they were the same age. I love being around my kids and I am truly thankful everyday for the time I get to spend with them.
The other night I went to dinner with people I work with at the courthouse in Girard. Since I have become County Clerk we have tried to professionalize our office, but I gave in a little on the topic of wearing denim jeans to work. If you wear jeans in our office you pay a mandatory one dollar fine to the County Clerk's Club...a private fund administered and run by the employees of the County Clerk's Office. Of the course of the past year we have been saving our dollars and they amounted to more than $400 to be spent on people more needy at Christmas time. The great people I work with chose a nursing facility at random and talked to the social worker there and asked how they could help the residents. They learned that seven of the people in the facility had no family and would receive no gifts. My staff received a list of the things the residents wanted for Christmas and proceeded to buy everything that was on the list for the elderly folks. There was money left over so they went to a local school where we listen to students read weekly for the purpose of mentoring. We learned of two children who were unlikely to get anything for Christmas. My co-workers proceeded to get a list from the kids and again bought everything on the list. Each package for both the nursing-home residents and the school children was individually wrapped and topped off with a bow. On Christmas morning those children will get 15 presents apiece and a couple large gifts to them and their family. I sit here almost overwhelmed by the good feelings I have toward the people I work with. I am proud to work with them and I am so grateful for their giving spirit and their ability to work together. We had a great dinner full of laughter and fun and they enjoyed shopping and playing Santa's little helpers all together.
In the end, all of the good in my life goes right back to the people I know. On Sunday the Pittsburg Elks will host a Christmas Party for little kids in the area who might not get a chance to see Santa Claus. Santa will come bearing toys and gifts for the kids. I am sitting here thinking of the hard work and time that will be required to pull off such a massive party and I know that those good people, like the good people above, will not even think twice before agreeing to do the work again next year. They serve... Anthony, Maggie, my co-workers and the Elks, along with so many others we all know...it's what they do. They serve other people, the only thing that's really important.
