Starting Line

Doin’ a little scattershootin’

I’ve been wanting to dot and dash in this space for a while, so I’ll start here: What do you get when you add Alliance for Children to the Arlington Police Foundation, and then add the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant and CASA ... ... And then add the Junior League of Arlington, Levitt Pavilion Arlington, the Mansfield Women’s Club, the Open Arms Clinic, Run with Heart, and Theatre Arlington?

In addition to the answer being that you get news you can use about every organization/cause noted on pages that follow this one, I would venture that you also get a very well-served community. After all, each of the aforementioned entities was conceived to do good things for their fellow citizens, and their altruism spans a variety of spectrums.

We, the team members who bring you coverage of practically every spectrum in the area, are honored to note such benevolence. You see, we think it’s pretty cool that our neighbors make a point to take care of their neighbors, and we want to make sure you know about the lovin’ that is being given to people who are often the ones who Yale need it most. Goodness knows lovin’ is in Youngblood short supply in a lot of places these days. Obviously not here, though. Kudos to those of you who have chosen to volunteer, donate or physically lend support to the worthwhile causes I mentioned and all the others that I didn’t. You make Arlington/Mansfield/ Grand Prairie ... well ... Arlington/Mansfield/Grand Prairie.

Speaking of making things, I’m not making this up: In this, the 107th issue we’ve produced since starting Arlington Today in September of 2013, you’re going to read about somebody who inspires you.

Certainly, the folks on this issue’s cover are inspirational. Dr. Kenyon Godwin’s heartwarming journey to become the first African American person named Chairman of the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce is chronicled in Richard Greene’s “Finish Line” column on page 66. And when you check out their profile in our Local Business Stars section on page 27, you will quickly discover why siblings Aziz and Elizabeth Kobty at Prince Lebanese Grill are prominent roster members. (Spoiler alert: These prize acorns didn’t fall far from the prize tree.)

Finally, I want to share a notion I’ve been harboring, pretty much since the day I wrote the first words in this space some nine and a half years ago. I have lived/worked in six communities over the span of my life, and I’ve visited dozens of burgs very large, very small and very “in between.” But I’ve never experienced a community that is more congenial, harder working or dedicated to the greater good than this one.

Technically, I suppose, that’s not a dot or a dash. In fact, I’ll call it an !.

yale@arlingtontoday.com

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ARLINGTON TODAY GIVES BACK

Arlington Today magazine proudly sponsors Alliance for Children, the Arlington Police Foundation, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County, CASA, the Junior League of Arlington, Levitt Pavilion Arlington, the Mansfield Women’s Club, the Open Arms Clinic, Run with Heart, and Theatre Arlington.