THE POORE PAGE: July 4 Has Special Meaning To Former Teacher

Make The Extra Call, Drop A Letter Or Go Visit A Friend Or Relative Who Served And Thank Them

I am enjoying the reality of presenting this column to you as a community one week prior to July 4. As a former history teacher, July 4 always has special meaning to me.

The meaning of July 4 was enhanced this past week when I was able to visit with our very own Troy Galloway.

Troy is probably a familiar name to many in this community. He works for the city of Bentonville as community development director. Galloway also is the commander of the 142nd Fires Brigade, a National Guard unit based in Fayetteville with approximately 1,500 soldiers.

We spoke this past week that the ideals of this nation seem to play out rather naturally here in Northwest Arkansas. We had the chance to speak in front of the Wall of Art in downtown Bentonville. This was a great place to have a talk about patriotism, service and respect.

As most of you know, the Bentonville School District worked with a variety of community partners to make the Wall of Art a reality. The wall has been up for over a year but, as Troy and I did, it is a good thing to re-examine. More than 8,000 pieces of art are on that wall. Students were tasked to deliver a visual image that honored one of three key words: Excellence, respect or service. These three words are the key words used by Sam Walton as he developed his business and lived his life.

I think that Troy and I both enjoyed looking at the art, and then found it easy to talk about the connection to Independence Day and tie it to our wonderful community.

So as we head into next week’s holiday weekend I have several things that I would like to suggest to you as a community member.

One, make a stop at the Wall of Art. See what kindergarten through sixth-graders thought were important words to live by through the medium of painting. If you have children, talk to them about your feelings and, of course, ask them about their feelings on the art as well as their feelings about what Mr. Sam’s words mean to them.

Second, we all know someone who is dedicated to serving this nation. What if we all took time to personally thank them for their service? Make the extra call, drop a letter or go visit a friend or relative who served and thank them.

Finally, let’s continue to live the words that make this nation great.

•••

Michael Poore is the superintendent for the Bentonville School District.

Upcoming Events