How I Learned About Service

For my whole life I’ve been surrounded by people who gave to others. Not by writing a check but in the way of bringing a pot of beans when someone dies, mowing the yard of a family that’s sick, or selling a car to someone on credit just because they needed it. This week I was reminded of those days of service by one of my favorite shows — The Waltons. When I think about how I treat my customers I didn’t realize that trait was learned long ago (re-energized with each Waltons episode.)

Over the past few years I’ve enjoyed surprising my clients with extra effort the same way my Daddy surprised the preacher with that truck or my momma surprised the neighbors with a bag of groceries. My wanting to make the client a hero comes from seeing a host of women stand in the back of a room allowing 4-H kids to take center stage. And my continued want for more is reinforced each night when I see John Boy go up against the town kids at Boatwright University or Mary Ellen’s plight to be a nurse in the backwoods of Virginia.

When I think back to the service ethic I’ve been given it’s no wonder I long to stay in the West Virginia I love. It’s there that someone gave their all in front of a shy little girl with a book in her hand. And it was there that service was explained to me in the best of ways…through action.