Our local newspaper recently reported the impending retirement of the high school principal in our community. December 31st will end a long and very successful career serving the Granbury schools for Marcia Grissom. Her commitment as a public educator has spanned some 40 years. I could not be more saddened. And that is saying a lot for someone who spent more than his share on the other side of the principal’s desk a few years back. Mrs. Grissom is a person of unquestioned integrity. Serving students is her calling. There are nearly 1500 kids on the high school campus, but she knows the majority of them by name. In some cases, she taught their parents in the classroom. She attends every kind of extra curricular event you possibly name. In my service as Debate Booster Club President, I have seen her go the extra mile time and time again, if she thought it would benefit the students.

When Randall began the process of applying for college scholarships in 2007, Mrs. Grissom composed a letter of recommendation on his behalf that he will not soon forget. I am literally sick that she will not be the principal to hand Daniel and Mitchell their high school diplomas. But life moves on. She will enjoy a much deserved retirement.

In light of Mrs. Grissom’s retirement, I can’t help but wonder if our society today still values the people who truly are pillars of all of our social institutions. I have colleagues in ministry who have devoted decades of their lives to the same church. I work with the law enforcement personnel who have served and protected their community for 25 or more years. Each of them will retire and be forgotten all too quickly.

People like Mrs. Grissom make a difference. They are the glue of the community.
They are consistent and faithful. They have made the conscious choice to weather the storms associated with their chosen profession. They truly love the communities they serve. Their integrity fosters what is right, just, and fair. We would be very foolish not to value what they contribute to our communities. And it would be thoughtless on our part not to not to value them as individuals.

It is the responsibility of my generation to pick up the baton and carry on now. We will face things that leaders of the previous generation did not. That is just life. But we have fine people to look to as examples of servant leadership. I don’t know if our efforts will be lauded or valued, but we must serve anyway. Students in public schools need administrators who will are totally dedicated to their calling. Churches need ministers who will give it their all. Law enforcement agencies need young rookies who will commit to the same agency for the long term. I am pretty confident that Mrs. Grissom and other members of her generation will cheer us on in each of our endeavors.