And the award goes to...

I have such misgivings about awards.

As I viewed bits and pieces of the Golden Globe Awards last night, I was reminded of those days when I coveted an award so much. I was a young radio News Director, I had pride in my news operation, and I just wanted to be able boast about our “Award-Winning News Department.”

It took years for me to realize the reason we didn’t win high profile citations was because we didn’t have the time to try. We were too busy serving our community.

Actually, there were many small-market radio news departments back in those days that were doing a great job in their home town. They weren’t seeking, nor did they receive, recognition and awards. They were doing their very best to serve.

And isn’t that true in many situations?

We don’t often hear or read about awards for good cops, county snow plow operators, caring providers in nursing homes, minimum wage personnel in service businesses, mail carriers…people who make our lives more pleasant on a daily basis. The truth is, they don’t do it for awards. They care. They take pride in their efforts. They love to serve.

That’s pretty much the way I see our work in HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS. You’ll see and hear the names of some very well-known prison ministries and agencies throughout the year. I have no doubt that the accolades are well-deserved. HFP’s recognition level, on the other hand, is very low. What’s that name again?

In the long run, that feisty little small-town radio news director got up early every morning, covered school board meetings into the night, and crawled out of bed during the night when the local bar was burning down, not because of his excellent pay check. No, because of his strong belief in the public’s right to know, he was there for his listeners. He loved it, because it was the right thing to do.

By the same token, that little prisoner advocacy agency which quietly responds to 15 calls a day, 7 days a week, gets up early in the morning to speak at an inmate’s Public Hearing, and emails doctors and lawyers into the night for assistance to Michigan inmates, does so, not for the money. The HFP team loves what we do, loves those whom we serve, and attempts to walk in the footsteps of our leader Jesus. It’s the right thing to do.

My favorite preacher of all times, the late Al Hoksbergen, used to kid me about doing church work without pay. “You’ll get your reward in heaven.”

Teasing or not, I think that’s a pretty good payoff!

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant:" The top award!





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Half-a-race!

The HFP Drag-Racing Fund-Raiser had the potential of being extremely successful, and could have raised several thousand dollars. Let's just say it was partly successful. For background purposes I'll explain that I was racing a 1963 supercharged Studebaker Lark that has a reputation of being one of the fastest stock Studebakers in drag racing today. The engine was built by one of the finest Studebaker engine mechanics in the country, and the car many times has achieved quarter-mile runs in less than 14 seconds! We promised to make at least ten passes in the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Michigan, this past weekend, and we asked for pledges ONLY ON THOSE RUNS REACHED IN LESS THAN 14 SECONDS. On Friday, here's how we fared: Run #1 13.936 @ 101.24 mph Run #2 14.027 @ 101.30 mph Run #3 14.091 @ 100.88 mph Run #4 13.805 @ 102.84 mph Run #5 14.058 @ 101.26 mph By the 5th run we discovered that ...
Read more

Gregory John McCormick: 1964-2008

Itchy is dead. The lifeless body of this talented rock musician, whose band Shock Therapy was a popular group especially in Europe, was found in a field in Detroit last Wednesday, November 5. The Wayne County Coroner's office informed father Glenn McCormick that the body of his son Gregory, better known to all of us as Itchy, bore no signs of trauma. Glenn said that Itchy, who had been living at his father's dental lab in Detroit, had been drinking to excess for some time. While the toxicology report has not been released yet, the general consensus seems to be that he drank himself to death. Our agency, while still named INNOCENT, first got involved with Itchy in 2005. The Detroit native, who called Germany his home, got involved in some unfortunate activity that placed him in the Michigan State prison system on a charge of arson of a dwelling. It was really just a bonfire in an alley, but an alleged parole violation placed him in prison for 1-20 years. I personally sat w...
Read more

Three lives, connected by a divine thread

My kids say it should be a book! The Doug, Pat and Mark story is a doozie!   About 25 years ago, while fighting to free Maurice Carter from prison, I read a newspaper column written by Pat Shellenbarger of the Grand Rapids Press on the topic of eyewitness identification. I contacted Pat re that story. That led to a friendship between Doug and Pat that continues to this day.   In subsequent months, Pat would go on to assist me in an investigation into the Maurice Carter case that eventually led to solving the crime.  That particular episode became a chapter in my book about the Carter case, SWEET FREEDOM, published in 2006.   Fast forward to 2009, A New York businessman claims wrongful conviction, and while serving time in a Michigan prison is handed a copy of my book. Mark Hartman, who was also convicted in Berrien County, was amazed at the similarity of these two stories and tried to reach out to me. His letters bounced.   Persisting in his efforts to c...
Read more