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Wilson, WAAO should be commended
Published Friday, March 20, 2009
Dear Editor:
Within the past few days’ publications there have been several articles about the donations being made towards the victims of Geneva and Coffee County’s tragedy from last Tuesday. The amount of support our community has extended should be commended and everyone who took part, even if it were not monetary, should feel as if we did an outstanding job. I’m sure these families are very appreciative of any help that can be offered.
With that said, Mr. Blaine Wilson and WAAO, who started this entire organization of taking donations for not only Deputy Myers but the other victims as well, should be applauded. I have known him well enough to know that Mr. Wilson did not do this for himself. He did not do this to benefit his business. He did this out of his good heart.
He has an amount of kindness in himself that you do not see on a day-to-day basis. He is giving, kind, and would do what he could to help someone in need. I don’t think when this began that Blaine had any idea this would turn out as wonderfully as it has. These families are struggling with the loss of their loved ones and because of Mr. Wilson’s efforts to organize and encourage the people of this community, we can now help all of the victims’ families and hopefully lessen some part of the grief they are suffering. All of the help was made available because of Mr. Wilson and WAAO.
As a family member of law enforcement officers, I can only continue to commend the efforts of Mr. Wilson not only as a business owner but as a former LEO also. The LEO’s here are a close group of individuals not only with those here but with those in other counties and states as well. Some of the closest friends will be officers you attended the academy and certification classes with.
There have been many comments and stories circulating of Mr. Wilson’s efforts to help only the Deputy’s family. This being untrue, as explained by Mr. Wilson on several occasions, I still do not see why there has to be those who criticize someone with such a good heart. What he did was courageous. What he did took a lot of time and effort to organize. With his schedule at work, at home, and his involvement with other local civic organizations, there was nothing saying that Mr. Wilson had to do this.
This came from his heart and not only does he have the heart of a husband, father, son, brother, and friend but he has the heart of a police officer. He knows first hand on how his job affects his family.
There have been comments made regarding Deputy Myers — that when he took the job he knew what it entailed. Sure, all officers know what it entails to get up and go to work and not knowing what intoxicated individual you deal with may or may not attempt to do to you or someone else. But he did not take the job and say he was willing to lose his family, or deserve the disrespect of a few in this community for the shame they are trying to put on the members of this area for helping.
All the victims of this tragic event deserve the same amount of respect. Even Deputy Myers. Let these families grieve. I can only hope that Mr. Wilson will continue his efforts to help these individuals and families. This is when we can help the most.
So, next time you see Blaine or any of the WAAO staff tell them good job. Because what they did is amazing. I doubt any of us would’ve done anything on our own or without the encouragement of him and his staff. Good job Blaine and WAAO staff, you did the right thing. It’s nice to see something so good come out of something so bad.
I end with this quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger.”
Brandy Holmes-Smith
Stanley Community
Comments
Posted by Reader (anonymous) on March 21, 2009 at 12:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Great letter; I agree!
Posted by nana2william (anonymous) on March 21, 2009 at 7:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you so much Brandy. I work with Blaine every day and watched him put hours of his time in this fundraiser. From the moment that he cried as he read the 5:30 news the day after the shootings until now, his only concern has been for those families! He opened his heart and his business to the citizens of this county and allowed them to show their generosity for a very tragic event. Every one at WAAO received such a blessing as we watched the people of this county give their time, money and food to help our neighbors in their time of need. There have been so many negative comments and I appreciate you for taking the time to express something positive. God blessed Blaine's endeavors and in turn blessed those families. Please continue to pray for each family that was involved. And if anyone wants to know I am JoAnn Jones and I am proud to say that I work at WAAO. Thank you Brandy, and thank you Blaine! And also thank you to the citizens and businesses of Covington County!
Posted by biscuitsandhoovergravy (anonymous) on March 21, 2009 at 8:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Great letter...all the bellyachers and mullygrubbers need to print the quote from the bottom of this letter and tape it to their fridge and try to read it everyday and commit it to memory. It's a good one to live by.
Posted by hdsd (anonymous) on March 21, 2009 at 9:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Great letter, Many would not have taken that first step sadly.
Without the leadership and push that WAAO and Blaine took, nothing may have happend. Yes many can and will point fingers.However, as we all know love is easy to share more so than hate and the finger pointing. THANKS FOR WHAT WAS DONE for such tragic time.
Posted by pathenley (anonymous) on March 21, 2009 at 9:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with the letter written by Brandy , Blaine Wilson should be commended by all of us for the effort he put into helping the victims families recently. I feel this was done from his heart. He was in a position to have the needed resource to reach the public ( his radio station )and seek the assistance for the families. I also commend all who donated to the cause in response to his plea. His staff is one of the best - they get involved to do their part whenever needed. I am proud of Blaine . I know his parents are. ... p.s. Shirley and Lance at McNeill Concrete Works should be commended for coming through with the expense of the vaults , and Blaines uncle for the caskets for each victim as well. Have a blest day
Posted by SEAN (anonymous) on March 24, 2009 at 1:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
great job blaine...money and badges take you places obviously. you did do a great thing though and i'm sure God will one day pay you back for your generosity.
miss holmes, great letter. apparently you read some of my comments in order to come to such a conclusion. i want to let you know that out of the comments i made, i wasn't trying to critisize deputy meyers. i really do feel for him and his loss. he didn't deserve that. i was making my comments on the simple fact that there were 11 that died, yet there was a "special" fundraiser for deputy meyers' family alone. personally, i felt that a man who had run for sheriff and a man who wanted to do such a magnificent thing, would feel for the victims of this event EQUALLY and not SEPERATLY. i may or may not be wrong in my opinion, however, it's made quite a stir on this forum. people misjudged me because of some things that i had commented on in january about SOME of the police around here. i had said that when i was 19 i went to jail. i'm 28 now. but because of that and the fact that i had originally stated that i believed that it was wrong that as a community we held a special fundraiser for the family of an officer and thought about "the others" the next day. but because of that, go back and read all my comments, people say that i was critisizing blaine, deputy meyers, and other local law enforcement. i really, truly, and honestly wasn't trying to "imply" that. i really wasn't. i felt no more for his loss than i did for any other victim.
to those of you who thought i was critisizing anybody, i apalagize.
Posted by AndalusiaAuctionHouse (anonymous) on April 3, 2009 at 6:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am very proud of the work Blaine has done for this area , he shows that he truley cares for what is going on with the folks in covington county,although this story has brought more attention to the work he has done, i have seen much more in the smaller community involvement that many do not see, I am happy to be a advertiser with his radio station and hope to be a part of his new television station, he is bringing to covington county, I know he will have a respectfull and family oriented programing that we need, thank you Blaine and god bless you and yours, I also recomend him for the man of the year award for covington county, if we have such a award, if not we need one.
Posted by Beanstalk (anonymous) on April 25, 2009 at 4:43 p.m.
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