Over the Christmas holidays, I read a book entitled Hollywood Kryptonite about the life and tragic death of Hollywood actor George Reeves. Reeves is perhaps better known as the “Man of Steel” – the actor who played Superman in the 1950 television series – The Adventures of Superman.

Many of the kids in my neighborhood would gather around their TV sets at 3:30 in the afternoon after school to see Superman, typically rescuing Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson, as he fought to preserve “Truth, Justice, and the American Way.”

My mother even went so far as to sew capes for a me and a little boy in the neighborhood as we pretended to be superheroes. While we couldn’t fly, we did jump on our Schwinn bikes, our bright red capes blowing in the wind as we pedaled from neighborhood to neighborhood, secure in the notion we were real American super heroes.

This past fall, a different set of heroes emerged at Lake Norman. They didn’t don red capes and blue tights with a big yellow letter “S” on their chest. But they were actual heroes none the less. On Friday, September 27^th Hurricane Helene blew through Western North Carolina and left death and destruction in her wake. It is estimated that there is more than $53 billion in damage with thousands of homes and businesses destroyed.

Often though it’s in the worst of times that we see the absolute best in people and we saw Lake Norman business leaders and citizens respond lending a hand to those who were most in need.  While there are many who jumped in to help, several past Board Chairs of the Chamber helped deliver 12 to 15 loads with 200,000 plus pounds of supplies. There were 10 Chamber of Commerce collection sites and more than $100,000 was raised to help our neighbors.  Many Chamber transportation logistic companies volunteered their vehicles; beverage companies and grocery stores donated product; and community volunteers donated supplies or money through our Chamber’s Foundation. 

I am reminded of the words Mother Teresa once said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

Fifty years after watching my first Superman episode, I’ve come to realize it doesn’t take a man of steel who can leap tall buildings or be faster than a locomotive to be a genuine hero. It can come in the form of a civic club member, community or chamber volunteer, or just someone who sees the need to leave their community better than they found it.

Heroes are just everyday people. They may not be able to change the world but they can impact one life at a time. Creating ripples which speak to our hearts and forever touch our souls.

Bill Russell

Caption: Volunteers help at a Chamber Hurricane Helene Relief “Drop off Site.”