The Star newspaper of Dec. 28, 2011, has the front page story of Jeanne Moon as the Volunteer of the Year for 2011. I’m sure Jeanne Moon well deserves this honor for all Jeanne does for the people in the Nespelem area and beyond! I would like to say thanks a bunch to Jeanne Moon and I hope you keep up the good work!

According to the newspaper article, there were nine contestants for the volunteer of the year, with a total of 218 votes. All of the nominees deserve a big thank you for volunteering!

My questions to all citizens of the Grand Coulee Dam area is: Did you vote for the Volunteer of the Year?

I called the city halls of our five local communities for a population count of each town and the total population was 3,635.

With a 218-vote tally with a population of 3,635 it comes across to me like who cares? Do you really care about all of our volunteers in the Grand Coulee Dam area? What would our area be like without all of the volunteers, such as the EMTs, firemen, and all who volunteer for community projects, etc?

I would like to say thanks a bunch to Scott Hunter, editor of The Star newspaper for a job well done with the Volunteer of the Year program.

I’m pretty sure Scott would be open to suggestions on how to get more citizens to vote for the volunteer of the year. If you have an idea or a suggestion, give Scott a call.

If you really care about our area volunteers, show your support for them, and next year get out and vote for the volunteer of your choice as listed in the paper!

When was the last time that you said thank you to our area volunteers, such as an EMT, a fireman, a veteran, or to any one of our many area volunteers?

A thank you doesn’t cost a cent and it means a lot to someone who receives it.

What would we do without all of our volunteers?

Remember: get out and vote.

Proud to be American

Jerry Beierman

Grand Coulee