- December 25, 2024
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As I sat down to write this column about John Walsh, our fearless leader, I had a liberating thought: Everything is John’s fault.
Any hate mail, any typo, any missed deadline — it’s all John’s fault. Because if it hadn’t been for John Walsh starting this newspaper in 2010 and taking the reins as the publisher, we wouldn’t make any mistakes, and we wouldn’t ever make anyone mad — we wouldn’t even be working here!
On the other hand, if it weren’t for John, we also wouldn’t have published the community’s stories for the past four years. We wouldn’t have reported on the past 200 or so City Council meetings. We wouldn’t have created a marketplace for men and women to advertise their businesses to potential consumers.
I’d like to think that John’s most significant contribution to the community since 2010 has been the Palm Coast Observer, but it’s not the only thing he has done. He has become heavily involved in the Rotary Club, Boy Scouts, countywide economic development efforts, as well as a leader in the United Way. And he has been an ambassador for the community wherever he goes. On bright, sunny days every winter, he grins at me and says, “Why do we live here, again?” He truly believes Flagler County is an exceptional place.
That sense of being an ambassador factors in to two awards John Walsh received this month. First, he was named the Citizen of the Year by the Elks Lodge 2709. And this week, he was scheduled to receive the Golden Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts.
(I would remiss not to mention the other award winners from Elks. Four members received Outstanding Service Commendations: Bill Demsky, Bill Hall, Jerry Dickens Sr. and Jeannie Fontana. Officer of the Year was Fred Gleissner, and Elk of the Year was Tom Coleman.)
“My outlook on life is success is a journey, not a destination,” John said to me earlier this week. His philosophy is to do the right thing, even in simple situations, like holding the door open for someone. And that shouldn’t be a reason for a big award, he said. “We learned that in kindergarten, right?” he said.
He added about receiving the awards: “I don’t know what I’ve done here. But if having a paper route is this important, OK then.”
John has gained influence in the community through the visibility of the newspaper, and he has used it to build others up — without getting credit himself. Brian Martin, executive for the Three Rivers District of the Council Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America, told me something John had done that I would never have known about if I didn’t call to ask about the award.
Martin said the Boy Scouts organization wanted to go from classroom to classroom to let present information about the Boy Scouts. John worked with the school administration to help make it happen.
So, John, thanks for bringing the paper to town and for being Flagler County’s biggest fan.
