Jill's Journal: Without 'U' and 'I' there is no commUnIty

Over the course of last week, I was reminded time and time again of the importance of community. 

And once again, over and over, I was witness to how our community steps up to support worthy causes and worthy people.

Sadly, our community came together to mourn the tragic loss of one of our own, Luke Reimers. For those of you who don’t know Luke, he was a son, a husband, a father, a U.S. Marine, a veteran and so much more to all who knew him. Through reddened eyes and shaky voices, I heard his friends and colleagues at the local VFW – an organization near and dear to Luke and his family – share their memories of a man gone too soon.

You see, he was only 39 years old. So yes, gone way too soon.

Many in our community have already stepped up to help Luke’s family in this difficult time of sorrow. Fundraising accounts have been established and events, like the upcoming limited-ticket meal and night of bingo, and the live and online auctions the Ed Polzine Wild Game Feed crew carried out for his family last week. A stack of gift cards – donated to the Feed – received a bid of nearly nine times their value, plus the buyer is passing the gift cards on to the Reimers family.

I also took in Friday’s Auction Amore, a fundraiser for the Chamber, from which 10 percent of the profits are dedicated to $500 scholarships for our graduating Brandon Valley High School seniors. Last year’s event added up to six scholarships, and as every college student can attest, every dollar matters when it comes to the cost of an education.

When the news of Brent Carmody’s recent cancer diagnosis claimed the life of the 51-year-old Valley Springs father, his friends and family stepped up to support his family. They’ve organized a benefit for this Saturday at the town’s American Legion Hall. And once again, the greater Brandon/Valley Springs community are donating what they can in support of his family.

Over the years, I’ve watched the Brandon Community Foundation fund grow from zero to over $1 million dollars. As a longtime member of the Community Foundation board of directors, I had the privilege of helping to decide which worthy causes to share a piece of the available grant dollars with each year. And time and time again, the people involved with these worthy causes have been graciously thankful.

As I inch closer to 20 years as a resident of Brandon, there have been countless numbers of fundraisers for worthy causes and worthy people. And none of it could be achieved without “U” and “I” in the greater Brandon/Valley Springs “cOmmUnity.”