Congratulations Mat-Su Valley Good Neighbors

For too long we have allowed the perceptions of others to define us. People look down their noses at the Valley and think their broad brushstrokes convey the details of our lives here. And really, that’s the problem with broad brushes — they are clumsy tools for painting details.

Though our identity problems began well before we were thrust into the limelight in 2008, the glare of the international spotlight did much to amplify the name-calling we’ve long endured.

But we are not what others say.

The only worthwhile measure of us is our own actions. Are we honest, kind and courteous? Do we work well together toward shared community goals? In times of emergency, how do we respond?

Tested against these measures, we are near the top of the class. Dog runs away? Expect a neighbor to return your dog. Drop your mobile phone? Expect your neighbors’ son or daughter to bring it to your front door. Car stuck in the snow? Expect anyone who passes to render aid. Medical bills pilling up with foreclosure looming? Know that your neighbors are even now organizing fundraisers and bake sales to help.

These aren’t just made-up examples from some utopian paradise dreamed up under a chemical haze brought on by the ink we use for printing. These are real-life examples, stories that we’ve written or, in some cases, lived. We have been stuck in the snow and pushed out by strangers. We have lost our phones and our wallets — on separate occasions — and had both returned by our Mat-Su Valley neighbors.

You know the stories about your neighbors who organize fundraisers that bring in $20,000 or more to help a family whose son is battling cancer. You’ve been at the same fundraisers we have. We saw you there when you pushed $1,000 in $100 bills into the donation jar and left without a word.

This is who we are. We are people who help each other, who value life in the Valley and the independence that comes with it. But we know, too, that life on the edge of the wilderness is still rugged and can turn deadly with little notice. In part, we think that’s why the spirit of helping one another remains alive and well here.

Friday, we gave out the first Mat-Su Valley Good Neighbor Awards to three winners: Rozann Kimpton and her great-granddaughter Amanda; Valley Pastors Prayer Network for its Real Love Initiative; and 55 Palmer-area businesses that collected 10,000 individual food items and more than $2,000 cash to stuff the Palmer Food Bank.

Today we begin accepting your nominations for the 2013 Mat-Su Valley Good Neighbor Awards in the same three categories: Individual, Non-Profit Organization and Business.

To nominate a Mat-Su Good Neighbor, tell us in 500 words or less why your nominee should receive this community recognition. Submit nominations to news@frontiersman.com, at our office, by mail or via frontiersman.com.

Nominees must be current residents of the Mat-Su Borough, may not receive financial compensation for their good deeds and actions must have occurred between Oct. 28, 2012, and Sept. 28, 2013.

We are proud to honor this year’s first crop of Mat-Su Valley Good Neighbors and look forward to continuing to build on this tradition for years to come.