The small news story hardly pushed past 160 words and many readers may have missed it, but the review of a barbecue to honor area first responders, sponsored by local residents and businesses, should resonate.

That’s because the event exemplifies what can happen when residents decide to do something positive.

The barbecue honored a host of local emergency service agencies and was hosted by Roesch and Debbie Kishpaugh with an assist from Dr. and Mrs. John Groupe.

The daylong affair was held in the Kishpaugh’s backyard and secured support from several Pendleton businesses.

There was no angle to the event other than to honor and celebrate the hard work of first responders. That deserves praise, but the implications may hopefully reverberate into the future.

On this space and on this page, in the past, we’ve pointed out how important it is for volunteers and concerned residents to step up and help make our community a great place to live and work.

A community gains its strength not from a few people, but from the whole and when the whole decides to make a difference, great things can happen.

Surely the Kishpaughs and Groupes did not have to do anything for our first responders. The local businesses could have shied away from helping as well. They didn’t though. Instead, they created a small event that punched way above its weight in terms of recognizing those who serve our community in roles that are all too often go unsung.

The event wasn’t held in the Round-Up arena or at the fairgrounds. It’s location in someone’s backyard is indicative of how an understated effort can still make an impact.

We need more backyard barbecues that honor those who service us. We need more events that focus on what we do well in this community. The nation, the state and even our own county has plenty of challenges. That’s no secret. Yet, we should remember when we focus on the legion of problems that linger, that there are plenty of positive events that occur. The barbecue is a good example of such an event.

Our strength as a community rests on our ability to be resilient, but to also give back. The backyard barbecue was a good venue to show how giving back to the community comes with no monetary reward, no front-page banner headline but instead delivers something more important — a sense of community that cannot be erased.