We're in the midst of the holiday season. Christmas decorations and glistening lights are everywhere for each of us to enjoy. This is the time of year that lifts our spirits and fills us with hope for the new year.
It is a time for families to gather and spend quality time together, sharing their love and affection for each other. It is in so many ways the very best time of the year.
As part of our holiday experience, gift-giving is an established practice. It is often in that way that we share our appreciation for those who are special in our lives.
It's appropriate at this time to also acknowledge and recognize another very important type of gift-giving that impacts our schools and our community. This type of giving breathes life and vitality and reality into our opportunities for success and continued progress. That is the special giving of oneself through personal leadership -- personal leadership that impacts our schools and our city.
Community leadership is a priority for the people of Springdale.
It is visible everywhere: parents and patrons serving on PTA committees, school booster club boards, and city planning initiatives. The people of Springdale give of themselves in every imaginable way to help make our community a great place for families to live and work and raise their children.
At this special time of the year, it is important that we thank our community patrons for their special gift of leadership that helps make things better for all concerned throughout the year.
Community leaders and school leaders working, planning and envisioning together what our schools, city and community can become is one of the greatest gifts that anyone can receive. Leadership is the key attribute that makes the pivotal difference in the pursuit of quality.
Springdale is and always has been blessed with special people who constantly give of themselves to make things better. Their work is constantly on display. There are so many examples for all of us to see.
This gift of community leadership is provided by our Springdale School Board members.
It is ever present in the work of our mayor and City Council members. It is evident from the service of the members of our Police Department, Fire Department and emergency-service providers.
At the center of those combined efforts is the passionate commitment to take care of our children. Springdale educators live that daily commitment, and when they are joined in that effort by community leaders, moms and dads and district patrons, great things can and constantly do happen.
Springdale is a great place because of the commitment that exists here to take care of the children and to constantly work together to get better.
We see that evidenced by The Springdale Morning News and its administration of the Christmas Card program and by the general personal support that so many patrons provide for it.
We see that evidenced by numerous food drives, the Coats for Kids programs, the Angel Tree programs across the city, and so many other examples. We see it in community committee work and in the tug-of-war that we acknowledge as the decision-making process.
Often at the pivotal time in every debate, community leaders emerge and use their personal gifts of maturity, integrity and influence to shape the discussions that eventually lead to quality decisions.
Often theirs is the "voice of hope" in a sometimes resistant crowd. Those are the positive voices that lead to consensus and the improvement of community services and continuous progress.
For the Springdale school system, 2014 has been an outstanding year, and the partnerships of our community leaders and patrons has made that progress possible.
It is my privilege to thank -- on behalf of our students and educational team members -- each of you for sharing your gift of leadership. From each of us to each of you, a very merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season.
JIM ROLLINS IS SUPERINTENDENT OF SPRINGDALE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. HE HAS SERVED IN THAT CAPACITY SINCE 1982.
Commentary on 12/18/2014