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Myers named 2018 Difference Maker of the Year
Ruth Myers really doesn’t want all this attention.
Never mind that her efforts through Phil the Need, Tools for School, Giving Tree and Delta Theta Tau should be held up as an example for the entire Putnam County community.
Ruth just wants to help without really being noticed.
It’s little wonder, then, that on the evening she was honored by the Banner Graphic as one of 10 Difference Makers in the community, her mind was elsewhere, on a family Phil the Need is serving that still needs a table and chairs for their home.
“The mother was texting me today about how important it was for her kids to sit at that table,” Myers said. “That’s what I would rather have been doing tonight is delivering that table and chairs to them.”
Instead, Myers spent Thursday evening at a banquet of more than 150 community members at Greencastle Christian Church, in which she was ultimately named the inaugural Difference Maker of the Year.
“I was shocked,” Myers said of the moment her name was announced. “I was totally surprised because every one of these people were deserving of this. They picked 10 great finalists.”
Those other nine finalists included John Berry of Cloverdale, Robert Heavin of Bainbridge, Jackie Hoffa of Cloverdale, Beth Krampe of Greencastle, Randy Neeley of Bainbridge, Shem Rees of Greencastle, Lee Stewart of Cloverdale, Crystal Strotman of Bainbridge and Alan Zerkel of Coatesville.
All of them were given the chance to tell their story recently and, like Myers, most of them don’t see what the big deal is. They do the right thing just because and they see it all as a team effort.
In that vein, Myers was interested in networking and expanding her team on Thursday.
“I want to talk to all of them,” Myers said in accepting her award. “We can work together to make an impact.”
Myers tries to keep the opportunities to make a difference at the forefront of her mind.
“Every opportunity for interaction is an opportunity to influence that person,” she said. “You can give life or you can take life.
“We can make a difference that will make an everlasting impact.”
It’s that impact that Myers focuses on every time she adds something to her busy schedule that includes a full-time job, a catering business on the side, helping son Mitch at Myers’ Market, Phil the Need, Tools for School, Delta Theta Tau, teaching Sunday school and taking care of her ailing mother.
Did we mention that Ruth and husband John raised their first two children, Mitch and Courtney, before adopting three more — Oscar, Brandon and Elizabeth — and raising them as well?
“I’m too tired” doesn’t seem to be in Myers’ vocabulary, which showed in the Bible verse she quoted in her acceptance speech:
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” - Galatians 6:9, 10
Even on Thursday, Myers spent the day at work, then helped daughter Courtney plan a home improvement project, flu shots for her and John and arranging for her brother to care for their mom before making it to the 6 p.m. banquet.
“So I squeezed a lot in after work,” Myers said.
The last event of the night was the one she dreaded the most — recognition.
Even the thought of being nominated by four people seemed to embarrass Myers.
“Silly people, I don’t want recognition,” Myers said of nominators Dick Shuck, Ashley Dayhuff, Tonia Dibble and Betty McGill, on behalf of Delta Theta Tau. “This is not what I do this for. I love the community. I couldn’t do this without the community.”
At the end of the day, Myers keeps her focus on “filling the needs of others” and not seeking the credit.
“I just want to show God’s passion for others and help people that need help,” Myers said.