What's in a community?

Last Saturday, I had the honor to announce the annual Parade of Lights. I always enjoy announcing for the parade, but that night more than announcing happened.

An officer from the Gillette Police Department came and notified me that there was a four-year-old boy that had wandered away from his family. The officer indicated the boy was non-verbal and autistic.

I quickly chatted with parade volunteer Becky Eischeid, who quickly agreed to stop the parade. So we stopped the parade and announced to the crowd that we were looking for this little boy.

I shared his description given to me by the police officer. His name was Leo, and he was affectionately referred to as “Meatball.”

Within moments, everyone in the crowd that was within earshot stopped what they were doing and began looking and calling out for Leo or “Meatball.”

After the announcement. I reluctantly and slowly continued with the parade, but now my mind was swimming with concern for this little boy and what he must be going through as he walked through the sea of people. I would be jerked back to reality by the sound of people calling out for Leo.

Hours seemed to pass, when in reality it was only about 30 minutes when that police officer ran up with a smile on her face. She had good news to report: Leo had been found and was safe.

When I announced to the crowd that he had been found, the overwhelming sound of cheers and applause filled the downtown area and sounded like what you would hear at a sporting event.

I wanted to share this during the holiday season because this is what the holidays are about. Kindness to our fellow human. It is also a true testimony to the love, compassion and integrity the members of our community have for one another. No matter the situations or disagreements that we encounter, we as a community always come together in a time of need.

After 35 years I am still proud to call Gillette my home. On behalf of Leo and his family, thank you for being such a wonderful, caring community.