Difference Makers transitioned to successful virtual event

Wow! The past two weeks at the Daily American Republic have been anything but normal. And we’ve loved every minute of it. First, the decision was made to not conduct our Difference Makers program in person this year because of COVID-19. This is something we didn’t want to do, but believed was necessary. Second, many staff members were forced to pivot and turn an in-person event into a virtual presentation. As you can imagine, that wasn’t an easy task to pull off in such a short period of time. But that’s exactly what happened. If you watched the video that was uploaded to darnews.com and our Facebook page Thursday evening, you had a chance to witness our final product. Though we are still in the infancy stages of our digital potential, the staff did a fantastic job of presenting the Difference Makers program in a professional and exciting fashion. As the DAR inches its way into the digital world, we’re finding out just how much time and effort it takes to produce such events. The reward is definitely worth the effort. I’ve said this a thousand times, and I’m going to say it again. These are the types of things that make our jobs so rewarding. We get to share in print and digital form these superb individuals and what they do to help make our community a better place to live. Let me share a little of what the judges went through this year and how tough it was to select the 10 finalists and the Difference Maker of the Year. Of the total entries, 18 received votes to be in the top 10. And there were only five points separating fourth and 10th place in the original vote totals. The top 10 selected by the judges was then narrowed down to the Difference Maker of the Year. That wasn’t easy either. Five finalists received at least one vote from the seven judges with two receiving two each. That meant a second round of voting. David Elledge ended up receiving the most votes and being named our Difference Maker of the Year for his work with Buddy Ball and Sleep in Heavenly Peace programs in Poplar Bluff. I’m not going to name all of our DAR staff members who had something to do with the Difference Makers program because I’m afraid I’ll leave someone out. It’s fair to say almost everyone on staff had a hand in some way of making this program successful. Thank you to our presenting sponsor Saint Francis Medical Center, and our co-sponsors Rob’s Flowers & Gifts, Three Rivers College, Hefner Furniture, Quality Air, Godfather’s Pizza, Donut House, Sterling Bank, Lisa Reynolds Insurance, Shooters Shack, Productive Staffing, Century 21 American Realty, First Midwest Bank, First Missouri State Bank, Blue Relics & Revivals, Poplar Bluff School District, Southern Care & Comfort, The Backyard & Beyond, Speedy Ketcherside Auction & Realty, Haven House, Willis Auction, and Morse Harwell Jiles Insurance. After we all took a deep breath Friday morning, we put our thinking caps back on and started planning for next year’s event. Our goal is to be able to host hundreds from the community who want to share their appreciation to the volunteers. Until then, we hope you enjoy the video and learning about these caring and giving people. Thank you for reading the DAR. Chris is the publisher for the Daily American Republic and can be reached at cpruett.dar@gmail.com .