Mayor Ashley Curry
This month is National Volunteer Appreciation month. April became National Volunteer Month as part of President George H. W. Bush’s “1,000 Points of Light” campaign in 1991. Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes. They pick a cause and make a difference in their communities or someone’s life. Sometimes the difference is a drop in the bucket; other times it creates a tidal wave of change.
Most recently we saw many volunteers assisting the city of Fultondale in the aftermath of a tornado and volunteers delivering bottled water to numerous cities in north Alabama that lost their water supplies. From the anonymous volunteers who donate their resources to those whose efforts are part of larger national organizations like Boy and Girl Scouts of America or American Red Cross or a local grassroots group, their missions provide valuable support to communities.
In addition to our volunteers, I want to recognize two of our elected officials who assisted our city on several important issues.
One of our outstanding citizens and public servants is state Sen. J.T. “Jabo” Waggoner. Jabo has lived in Vestavia Hills over 50 years. And, if you were not aware, he has served in the Alabama Legislature equally as long. In fact, he has served longer than anyone in our state’s history.
In the past few months I sought his assistance on a very important issue involving our city.
A bill being considered by the Alabama Legislature, referred to as the “Fireworks” bill, as originally written, would have overridden a city’s authority to control the sale of fireworks. Vestavia Hills has a fireworks ordinance, passed in 1958, that prohibits the sale of fireworks in our city. This bill would have removed our authority to have such an ordinance. As this is a “local” issue, I believe that our local elected officials should make that decision and not the state of Alabama. Sen. Waggoner was instrumental in directing legislators to amend the bill so that individual cities can preserve their authority to pass local ordinances regarding fireworks. At the time I am writing this, the bill has not been passed, but I am optimistic that our city will maintain our right to decide this issue.
Secondly, I would like to recognize Congressman Gary Palmer. Congressman Palmer, along with Sen. Waggoner, was instrumental in helping me advocate for some of our senior citizens residing in an independent living facility. These seniors were not able to get the COVID-19 vaccine, even though other, less priority groups were able to be vaccinated. There were a number of reasons that contributed to this group of seniors being overlooked. There were county, state and federal programs that covered some assisted living facilities but not independent living. With the assistance of Congressman Palmer and Sen. Waggoner, we were able to draw attention to the plight of these seniors, and they have been designated to receive the vaccine.
Thank you, Sen. Waggoner, and thank you, Congressman Palmer.
I thank the many volunteers who make a positive difference in our community by donating their time and talents to worthy causes.
“Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.”
– Author Unknown
