"Your Dad is a Hero to Us"

The most amazing thing happened to me last year at Avadian. My wife and I have been members since our son, Mark, was born 9 years ago. So Mark and I were standing in line one day waiting on the next teller. When our turn came, I noticed someone had accidently dropped a tissue, so I picked it and handed it Gayla, who was helping us. No big deal.

But Gayla made a comment. She said, “It seems like too few people care enough to even do something that simple anymore.” I don’t know about that, but we went on our way.

Well, about a month later, Mark and I were back in the Avadian branch. Gayla saw us and came around the desk and handed me a package. She said that she had spoken to my wife about the last time we’d been in. Apparently, my wife told her I do a lot of volunteer work, with groups cleaning up the Cahaba River and Turkey Creek. Gayla said I was some kind of superhero, volunteering to help keep our community and our natural areas pristine.

And in the package was two Captain America t-shirts, one for me and one for Mark. She told Mark, “your Dad is a hero to us. We’re really proud to know you both.”

I was speechless. I’ve never felt like anything I’ve done is heroic and lots of people give as much as I do. But for Gayla to go out of her way to say thank you — that certainly makes me proud to be a part of Avadian. Little things really do matter.