In this world it is common to see people fighting over small differences and generally creating tension where none needs to exist. That said, it is refreshing to see a person or group of people simply do what is right.

Last spring, the Selma Rotary Club allowed the barbecue pit to catch on fire at Memorial Stadium. In a few minutes, the club’s biggest fund-raiser of the year burned up and left a mess. The Memorial Stadium barbecue pit is used often by the community for charitable events and social gatherings.

The loss of the pit in the fire was a loss for this community.

The Rotary Club’s insurance paid the city for the damage, but the city chose not to rebuild the pit.

The Rotary Club felt the right thing to do was to rebuild and restore the asset.

Once the club had permission from the city to rebuild at its own expense, the club went to work to not only rebuild the pit, but make it better than it was before.

From what we have seen, its efforts were successful.

The new barbecue pits are superior in design and quality of construction than what previously existed. The new materials are designed to resist the type of fire that doomed the old pit.

It would have been easy for the Rotary Club to throw its hands up and get out of the barbecue business. It paid the city for the damage to the pit and squared that debt.

The club could have also publicly complained that the city took the fire damage money and then decided to not build another pit.

Instead the club chose to rebuild the pit and then donate it to the city and its people. The Rotarians believe in emphasizing “service above self.” This is a prime example of them following their own creed.

Because someone decided to simply do what was right, the Rotarians, the city, and its citizens are a little bit richer.