The WSIU Friends Board is honoring people making a difference in the region with a "Good Neighbor" award. The award was inspired by the legendary Fred Rogers of the iconic program "Mister Rogers Neighborhood," which airs on WSIU and PBS stations across the nation.
Rick Crossley of Carbondale was recently honored and provided this statement to WSIU:
Firstly, I would like to thank you! It's an honor to receive this accolade that pays tribute to such an amazing individual. Mr. Fred Rogers was a bright light whose kindness impacted the entire world, a legacy I could only hope to achieve. Words cannot describe my overwhelming appreciation.
Secondly, I would like to extend my thanks to the other board members involved in the decision-making process, particularly my neighbor Mark Bradley. He may dote on my ability to be a good neighbor, but the truth is he is just as an incredible neighbor as I am. He is always willing to get to know our community members and extend to helping hand when possible.
When Mark told me I had been chosen for this award I was both touched and speechless. Although I am the recipient of numerous awards within our community; including the keeping Carbondale Beautiful Bright Spot Award, as well as a two-time winner of the Carbondale Christmas Lights Award, I never expected nor intended to receive any awards. My only goal was to have all my community members feel welcome and have a sense of joy when they drive or walk past my house. I like for my neighbors to know they can depend on me to help them whenever they need by sharing any and all resources available to me. This could be something as simple as mowing my neighbor's lawn, or helping fix their screen door, or take their trash can to the curb on garbage day or share my knowledge of gardening to those who struggle with keeping plants alive, or even pet-sit when they need to leave town for a short amount of time.
I think that being able to depend on your neighbors as support provides the kind of peace and comfort everyone should have. My parents taught me that you never know what a person is going through, and that the best thing we can do for them is show them grace and understanding by making them feel safe and at home when we interact with one another.
Home is a word we all use interchangeably to describe more than just the house we live in or the apartment we rent. A person's home extends beyond the end of the block. It lies outside the boundaries of our subdivision. It's even more than the town one lives in. A person's home includes the grocery store we go to, It includes the coffee shop we visit in the mornings, it includes the mail person that sorts our mail, and the gas station attendant. A person's home is more than the roof over their head or the garden they tend to. A person's home includes all the people they interact with on a regular basis. A person's home is their neighbors.
We are all neighbors. We are all trying our best and we all have strengths we can share with one another to positively impact each other's lives. It's so important that people feel seen and heard, and I want all my neighbors and community members know that they are not alone in this world that they can always depend on me to both see and hear them.
To quote the great Mr. Rogers, “All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors—in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver.”
I will do my best to honor this award and Mr. Rogers by being there for all my neighbors and community members. They are all vital in my life and I hope they all know how important they are to me.
