A woman was selected as Citizen of the Year for the Selma Rotary Club on Monday and her impressive resume is not all that makes her worthy for the award.

The club chose Kathi Needham as the 2013 recipient of their prestigious award and she is a resident of colorful character that has, no doubt, improved Selma’s quality of life for all — especially those in low-income families.

She is constantly a voice for healthier lifestyles being offered in Dallas County as she has secured vouchers for elderly and those on the WIC program to receive free and discounted produce from the local farmer’s market. Anyone who works with Selma’s United Way will testify to her constant labor for the organization — all purely fueled by helping others have a better life.

She was the first woman to chair Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce and was recognized as a woman of distinction by the South Alabama Girl Scouts of America. Needham also worked with others to bring the program Healthlink to the community, which offers prescriptions to low-income individuals that cannot afford their medication. Needham said Monday that the Citizen of the Year award was just a catalyst for her to keep on going and keep finding new ways to help others. We certainly hope that it will be, because the community would seem dim without her bright light of hope shining with each grant she applies for and every organization where she serves as a board member — over the years there have been multiple.

We cannot help but wonder what Selma would look life in Needham and her husband hadn’t purchased the Bridge Tender’s house on Water Avenue, renovated it and let visitors stay in it as a bed and breakfast. So many tourists over the years got to see Selma in a new light waking up to that view on the Alabama River.

We cannot help but wonder what Selma would look like if their were more residents that had the same passion for helping others and seeing lives change that Needham has.

The world would be a different place.