This column appeared in the May 24 edition of The Medina Gazette.
Like politicians, even small-time newspaper columnists have stump speeches. Unlike most politicians, however, when I speak to civic groups, I can sum-up my speech in one word:
Thanks.
Thanks for all you do. One would be hard-pressed to find another segment of the community as consistently under-valued, under-recognized, under-the-radar, often under-manned and under-womaned, as service clubs.
They include Jaycees, Kiwanis, Lions, the Rotary and Ruritans. I also would include many faith-related groups, as well as veterans organizations, 4-H and Scouts, whose members give massive amounts of time and money to their communities and beyond. Where there’s a need, they help, in ways big and small.
Earlier this month, I spent time with members of the Lodi Rotary Club as they tended the magnificent stand of rhododendrons at Woodlawn Cemetery. For half a century, Lodi’s Rotarians have been planting, pruning and fertilizing these beautiful flowering shrubs. Through their stewardship, we can enjoy what has to be one of the prettiest collections of rhododendrons in Ohio.
Attend a picnic or family reunion in a city or village park in Medina County this summer, and you are likely to lunch under a pavilion or play on a ball field built by a civic group. In some communities, the entire park is the result of a service club’s heart and sweat.
In 1961, the Seville Lions Club helped lead the village’s effort to build the county’s first from-scratch library building. It has since been expanded and still is in use today. One of my journalism heroes is Lee Cavin, then the editor and publisher of the weekly Seville Chronicle. In covering the construction of the library, Cavin wrote:
“Virtually every member of the Lions Club contributed both financially and in time to the project this summer. Many men learned new skills on the job. Finish carpentry, painting and other chores were attempted by men more accustomed to handling a pen.”
I love the last line. That’s what community service is all about. It’s about getting outside your comfort zone – whether it’s giving time, writing a check, or picking up an unfamiliar tool to do a job. Overcoming one’s comfort zone is like overcoming inertia. It’s not easy.
I have always been struck by the term “service club.” Most clubs center around a common self-interest. There are tractor clubs, quilting clubs, running clubs, fan clubs, on and on.
What’s the interest shared by members of service clubs? Not any one object or activity. Not self-interest. Rather, a willingness to give.
How special is that? Very special. Yet, many groups struggle to keep up membership and momentum. A generation or two ago, there were fewer options to connect with others in a community. Service groups provided a way to meet neighbors and make a positive impact at the same time.
Today, there’s a full menu of ways for people to connect socially. It must be said there are also more ways to spend one’s time and money on oneself.
There are still as many hours in the day as there ever were. I don’t buy the claim we somehow have less time today than previous generations had – especially with the cars, washing machines, microwaves, computers, cell phones, and all the other time-saving inventions you and I enjoy.
Few are as busy as someone who volunteers in a civic group. As the saying goes: If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. It’s one of the sad ironies of life, but thank God for it. He or she has all the same family and employment responsibilities as the rest of us. The difference is in the choices we make with the resources we have.
Today, there’s no shortage of anti-tax sentiment. People puff up their chests and complain government is too big and costs too much, that it’s involved in too many things. That much of its work belongs in the private sector. Many of them say: Why can’t things be like they used to be?
All that may or may not be true. But I can’t help wonder how many of the loudest complainers are willing to give freely and regularly of their time and money to help those in need and to build good things in their communities.
The more we cut funding for the care of the poor and elderly, for parks and libraries, for schools and historical preservation, for arts and culture, the more we will rely on community groups to fill the void if such programs and institutions are to continue.
So who’s ready to go back to the future and pitch-in? We need to do more than put our money where our mouth is. We need to put our hands there, too.
No matter where you live in Medina County, I guarantee there’s a club, or youth organization, or historical society, or cemetery association, or veterans group, or church that could use a busy person like yourself. Most likely, you will find it a rewarding experience.
And thanks.
Contact John Gladden at gladden@frontier.com or on Twitter @thatjohngladden.
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