Can we talk?

I work under deadlines all day long, every day. Some I don’t mind, some are unreasonable and some are just plain impossible.

But right now, it’s YOU who is under a deadline, and it affects me.

Throughout the month, The Laurinburg Exchange has been promoting a new feature — an extension of our effort to publicize good news around Scotland County: the Citizen of the Month segment.

Readers have been asked to nominate someone they think has stood head and shoulders above the rest, and the reason could be almost anything at all. For instance, perhaps a youngster assisted an elderly neighbor with yard work; or maybe someone ran an errand for for another person who couldn’t; possibly there has been someone who proved to be an extraordinary teammate; or an individual did something to show appreciation for a community group; maybe there’s someone who is doing something to improve their community in some way.

Folks, those were more than just ideas — they should also be clues, because such individuals are out there. Some have even been recognized in The Exchange for their good deeds recently.

But we can’t and won’t make the nominations. That job is yours, and the deadline looms.

So far, we have … wait, let me check my email.

OK, so far, we have a total of ZERO nominations for Citizen of the Month in Scotland County. None. Nada. Goose egg.

Seriously?

We have long been told readers of The Exchange have grown weary of reading nothing but bad news. Too much crime, too much bickering, too much negative, too much … bad. We’ve been asked why there isn’t more good news about what students are doing, what senior citizens are doing, what the up-and-coming 20-somethings are doing, etc.

So we’ve been looking for those kinds of stories, and we think we’re reaching a pretty good balance.

And now, in that same vein, we’ve begun the Citizen of the Month search. But where are you, Scotland County? Nobody can think of a single person to nominate?

If you are interested in more positive news, more focus on the good things happening here and more stories on the creative things people are doing … then part of that effort has to be yours. Someone has to tell us. Otherwise, how do you think we’re going to know?

So now, the clock is ticking. The sand in my hour glass is running out. The deadline is close.

We will accept Citizen of the Month nominations until Wednesday at noon. That will give us time to consider the nominations, choose a winner, contact that individual and write the story — all in time for next Saturday’s newspaper.

Nominating is pretty simple. Just send me an email (please don’t call) that includes your name and phone number along with your nomination, why you are nominating the individual and, if you can, how we might contact the person you are nominating. Should you have a photo of the person, you can always attach it to your email.

Sadly, since we won’t be making any nominations ourselves — because we really want this to be a community driven thing — if no nominations arrive by Wednesday at noon, the Citizen of the Month idea will wilt and die.

I’m really hoping that won’t happen.

W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-506-3023 or [email protected].

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