By Shane Goodman shane@dmcityview.com

Modest, humble and deserving

Our annual look at people making a difference

We know you read Cityview for our no-holds-barred style of publishing. When mistakes are made in Central Iowa, especially with your tax dollars, we are quick to point out those to blame. In recent years, we have also made concentrated efforts to acknowledge those who make positive contributions to the area. This has been most apparent in our annual People Making a Difference issue, which we are proud to bring to you again this year. In planning for the story, we discuss who should be recognized, and we seek out those who don’t necessarily show up in the pages of the daily, on TV or in any of local social magazines. We all know that these folks certainly don’t need any more publicity. One of the most difficult tasks in writing about the people who we want to recognize is convincing them that their efforts are worthy of the honor.

There is certainly a large number of people who deserve to be included in this story, and this one article by no means captures all the good deeds, and maybe not even the most important ones. Rather, this effort is a reminder that there are good people doing good things every day not only for their friends and family, but for people they don’t even know. And this is the truest measure of giving back.

Our 2007 class of People Making a Difference includes a homeless outreach worker; a crossing guard; a Salvation Army bell ringer; an environmental, peace and youth advocate; a neighborhood activist; and an historian. We give them our thanks for being unsung heroes and true leaders for the residents in the communities we all serve.

Thanks for reading.

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