Last week at the Selma City Council meeting, several groups were honored for bringing tourists into the city, helping the flow of sales and lodging tax revenue; showing people our pride in our city and our history.

Among those receiving the honors were the National Voting Rights Museum, the re-enactment of the Battle of Selma, the Tale Tellin’, the Central Alabama Fair and several others.

We have teams of men and women working hard to bring industry and retail to Selma. These folks meet frequently, go out of town and greet prospects, work with government officials to show what we have here in Selma and Dallas County.

We lean heavily on industrial and retail development.

But tourism gives us balance. It gives us that quality of life so many in the other category say they want for themselves and for their employees.

Fortunately, we have enough festivals, like Kenan’s Mill, and historical celebrations, like the BridgeWalking Jubilee and the yearly Spring Pilgrimage to show off every now and again.

But we’re used to these events. Many of us, as indicated by the unofficial poll at www.selmatimesjournal.com, take them for granted. Some, we do not attend at all.

Perhaps we should get to know our festivals and celebrations a little better. Perhaps, like an old friend or a mate, we have forgotten how attractive they are or what brought some outsiders here for the first time.

We need to celebrate the people who usually work other jobs, then donate their time and effort to planning these events that put Selma on the map.

Volunteerism is not generally appreciated enough in communities. If we don’t pay attention to these events, how can we, then, know who is behind what and how hard they have worked?

How much have you sacrificed personally for your community to be able to attract people from the outside?

The time for recognition is long overdue. The Selma Times-Journal applauds the City of Selma for pointing out to the citizens of the area those who give extra, so the rest of us might have a good time and, yes, even benefit from it financially.