Friends,
This past weekend, as a member of the St. Paul Park/Newport Lions Club, I helped pack more than 400 meal baskets for our neighbors who rely on the Friends In Need Food shelf in St. Paul Park. Cottage Grove Lions Club and other volunteers from our great communities spent a couple hours together so many families could have what many of us are fortunate to have almost any day we want, a good meal.
When we're at the dinner table ready to eat together as a family, Wyatt (age 4) commonly likes to say the prayer. He almost always says how grateful he is for everyone in his family and especially those who are at the table with us. Since I'll be serving the citizens of Cottage Grove at work as a police officer this Thanksgiving and won't get to be with family, I want to echo Wyatt's words on how grateful I am for my family, my neighbors and the giving spirit our communities have when they come together.
As a police officer, I am well aware there are many of our friends and neighbors who are not looking forward to the holidays because they have suffered the loss of a loved one in the last year. I have seen that despair first hand. My family and I express our deepest sympathies to you as you forge through this upcoming season while so many others will be so joyful. I hope you can find peace.
As Thanksgiving wraps up and we all start to give more attention to holiday shopping, please remember to shop local. Your purchase at a local business is a proven reinvestment in your community.
This Saturday – November 30 – is Small Business Saturday. It’s a day to celebrate and support the small businesses in our community. After all, the proprietors and employees of these stores are our friends and neighbors. Keeping our money in our community will aid our Main Street mom-and-pop stores in their struggle against the Big Box retailers and the online behemoths. Let’s come out on Saturday and support these local establishments.
For more information on small businesses in South St. Paul, go to http://members.riverheights.com/list/. For info on small businesses in Cottage Grove, Newport and St. Paul Park, check out http://cottagegrovechamber.org/?110230.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving on Thursday and we wish our Jewish friends Happy Hanukkah which starts at sunset today.
Dan