With the Tree Lighting event this Saturday, Banner Park gets a sprucing up by UBRA members

By GEORGE CUSTER/The Herald — The volunteers and City maintenance crew were blessed with a nice, sunny day to get Banner Park ready for the annual holiday Tree Lighting event that will take place this coming Saturday at 7:00 p.m.  The President of the Uptown Business & Revitalization Association (UBRA), Mick Garvin, put out a call for volunteers from the nonprofit organization, and was excited to see a robust crowd attend. Pulling weeds, trimming bushes, filling trash bags, and scraping that pesky moss that settles on everything was performed with enthusiasm and vigor.

These folks didn’t have to do the work, or even show up. Yet, wearing work clothes and gloves, they mostly showed up early and went to work without being told. They saw what needed to be done and just jumped in and did it. By the time I got there, which was minutes after the project was to start, the park was virtually weed-free.

Volunteerism is a great thing and Oakridge has lots of people ready to give of themselves to better our community. I’ve seen this time and time again. People who volunteer count everybody in their community as their neighbor and treat them as they would hope, but not expect, to be treated.  We should all be proud and thankful of the thousands of hours volunteers contribute, unselfishly, every year here in Oakridge.

The City’s maintenance crew has set a beautiful tree once again in the park and were stringing the lights and placing bows on the tree when I stopped by to catch the action. Though they work hard all year keeping the city running through rain, snow, heat, and often, freezing cold, they were quick to give a smile and a wave from the lift bucket while attending to the tree.