Have you thanked the unsung heroes in your life lately?

I had the privilege of meeting one of Missouri’s finest a few days ago...a Missouri Highway Patrolman named Cpl Rick Scism. I know what you’re thinking!  You’re thinking that means Todd got caught speeding or doing some unlawful deed, right?  Well, fortunately for me you’d be wrong.

Speeding was what our former President, Bob Hormann, very often got caught doing. In fact, I’m certain Bob still has his traffic attorney on speed dial!  No, meeting Cpl Scism wasn’t about any lawlessness on my part. It was to discuss a young man named Jack Shull who’s the 22-year-old son of one of my best friends. You see, it turns out Jack wants to become a Missouri Highway Patrolman, which is something to be admired in my humble opinion. And the more I think about it, perhaps more so today than ever before.

My conversation with Cpl Scism took a number of different turns. Some about Jack and some just about life in general. Cpl Scism struck me as a genuine, good-hearted man. It quickly became clear to me that he'd joined the Missouri Highway Patrol 28 years ago primarily because he loves helping people. And I told him that I believed Jack’s motivation is to help people as well. I also told him the story of how not too many years ago Jack wanted to work with the Coast Guard and be a rescue swimmer!

As our conversation progressed, Cpl Scism told me about a recent day of his and how many tires he’d changed for stranded motorists in the blazing 100-degree Missouri heat and humidity.  He also told me a story about helping a family whose car had broken down and how he loaded them up and got them safely to where they needed to go.

His story reminded me of an early childhood memory. It was a very similar situation where our family Vega (that’s a car for you youngins) broke down in nowhere north Missouri and my family too was rescued by a helpful Missouri Highway patrolman. I was only 4 or 5 years old, but I still remember the bright lights of his radar gun on the dashboard showing the speed of oncoming cars as he drove us to the nearest town for help.

There are a lot of unsung heroes in life that cross our paths every day.  People that go out of their way to help others or folks that do a “behind the scenes” job day in and day out and don’t get a big spotlight shined on them. Unfortunately, our nation’s first responders are often among that crowd.

I also believe we all probably work with some unsung heroes every day.   Our sales and marketing team tends to get the spotlight around here. And not that it isn’t well deserved, but they’re only part of the team that it takes to run a great business.

Durvet’s unsung heroes are folks like John Miller and the entire Operations crew:  Sheryl Plank, Crissy Scott and Bobby Bowers. Bobby’s team in the warehouse:  Jeff Carson, Scott Overfield, John Purdy, Bobby Kaps, Andrew McCollum, Willie Bushong, Mike Burks, John Hays, Nancy Manley, Jahleel Still, Jim Drummond and John Perry. Our fine customer service folks:  Eric McQuitty, Deanna Yehle and Alex Sandmann.  Diane Casey, our Receptionist & Meeting Coordinator. Marla Rathke, our returns guru. Kim Manley in accounting. And last but certainly not least Andrea Cappuzzo our Administrative Assistant that simply handles anything that’s thrown her way!

Cpl Scism ended our conversation by telling me that the “silent majority” support men and women police officers. He said that there has never been a time where more folks have offered to pay for his meal than in recent weeks. He also said that the Troop A headquarters has more cookies right now than they know what to do with.

The point of this blog post is simply my way of not being a part of the “silent majority” that Cpl Scism spoke of. I urge you to not be a part of it either. I also wanted to take a moment to recognize the unsung heroes that cross my path on a daily basis and send out a big THANK YOU to all of you!

From the unsung heroes I mentioned here at Durvet...to Cpl Scism...to Jack Shull...to Officer Chris Paris (who’s the husband of our very own Valarie Paris, Durvet’s Controller), I say thank you and God bless!

All the best,

Todd