• 63°
franklin county times

Making a difference with kindness

By Staff
Kim West
As I sat in the Phil Campbell High School auditorium Monday morning, I thought it was fitting that the Veteran's Day program I was covering was followed by remarks from principal Williams Smith and math teacher Karen Gilbert about the importance of kindness.
I thought it was appropriate because I had heard that morning about the Sunday passing of the school's 17-year-old homecoming queen, Shelby Grissom, who was diminutive in stature but had an oversized reputation for kindness and a positive attitude.
I have heard there was actually opposition to her inclusion on the homecoming court this year because of the possibility her terminal illness would win her so-called sympathy votes. I guess it would be easy to feel sorry for someone with her circumstances but I was also at the Bobcats' homecoming game Oct. 17, and other than a beaming smile that never seemed to leave her face, she didn't seem any different from the other representatives.
Not many of us can be as talented and poised as Tiger Woods or financially savvy as Warren Buffett. But we can all do the little things to make our daily lives more pleasant, especially since most of us struggle with similar problems, whether it be our health, financial situation or work and family demands.
Mrs. Gilbert talked about a program that was recently started at Phil Campbell called "10,000 Acts of Kindness," which has already produced more than 1,500 recorded acts of kindness since the beginning of November. She asked the students, "Why not try to make this a lot better place for all of us? It's the right thing to do, it makes us a lot better and it makes our school better."
I don't know if it was inspired by Grissom, but what better way to honor the memory of someone who was uniformly described as kind and thoughtful than to take a minute of your day and do something nice for someone else?
Abraham Joshua Heschel said, "When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people." I could name a lot of intelligent folks, but I have to think much harder to name people with truly giving spirits. When I think of Shelby Grissom, I'll think of how something as simple and free as being kind can leave a lasting impact on the people in your lives.

Franklin County

PROGRESS 2024: Veteran Spotlight – Mousey Brown

News

Russellville First Baptist Church receives historical marker

Franklin County

PROGRESS 2024: Meeting a higher standard – Russellville High School JROTC

News

RCS BOE announces new superintendent  

News

Miss Dream Girl Pageant names winners

Franklin County

First Metro Bank hosts FAME Girls’ Ranch donation drive

News

PCHS holds annual Shelby Grissom Memorial Fashion Show

Franklin County

PROGRESS 2024: VFW Post 5184 – ‘No One Does More For Veterans’

Features

Supporting students’ futures

Features

Red Bay Garden Club discusses amaryllis planting

Franklin County

UA announces local students for fall 2023 President’s, Dean’s, graduation lists

News

School news

Franklin County

PROGRESS 2024: Veteran Spotlight – Troy Oliver

Franklin County

Appropriations bill passes, allots more than $3 million for new Russellville library/multipurpose center 

Franklin County

Franklin County Cattlemen’s Association names Cattleman of the Year 

Franklin County

Franklin County votes: Unofficial March 5 primary election results 

Franklin County

Funding for new Russellville library, multipurpose community center expected this week

Features

Faces of Franklin County: BTCPA

News

GFWC Russellville Book Lovers Club sponsors downtown art crawl

Franklin County

PROGRESS 2024: Veteran Spotlight – Cody Bragwell

Franklin County

42nd annual Miss RHS pageant names winners 

News

Miss RHS pageant takes place Friday

Franklin County

Political announcement: David Hester speaks about run for reelection as county commissioner

Franklin County

BTCPA auditions for final production of season take place March 3-4 

x