Dear Friend,

Each month, I highlight the accomplishments of a local resident or organization on the John's Spotlight section of my website. Today, I want to bring to your attention the Amesbury Heart to Heart program, a great example what can happen when a community comes together.

Recently, Amesbury resident Rosemary Werner decided that Valentine's Day would be the perfect opportunity to show our service members how much they are appreciated. She helped bring together city residents of all ages to create a very unique Valentine's Day delivery for the wounded service members at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Rosemary's husband who has an interest in woodworking created hundreds of hand-cut wooden hearts. Students at the Cashman and Amesbury Elementary Schools painted the hearts in patriotic colors and middle and high school students wrote letters of thanks and well wishes for the soldiers. Mayor Thatcher Kezer III and Police Chief Mark Gagnon gathered volunteers to carefully box up the cards and hearts and letters for their journey to Bethesda.

Last week, sixteen boxes of hearts and cards arrived at my office and we helped facilitate their delivery to Walter Reed.

Packages from Amesbury, MA arrive at the U.S. Capitol building

A U.S. Army Captain receives the hearts and cards and prepares them for delivery to Walter Reed Medical Center.

I'd like to point out that Rosemary, who recently retired but certainly has not slowed down, is also the Director of Best Foot Forward, a volunteer-based community organization that provides a wide variety of free services to residents who need assistance with the job hunting process. Since opening last spring, Best Foot Forward has already served more than 60 clients from the greater Amesbury area. Rosemary's efforts are truly a reminder of the important and selfless work being done in our local communities that often goes unnoticed.

In the months ahead, I hope that you will share with me your experiences that you have had with local organizations and stories about your friends and neighbors who are helping our communities. Moving forward, please use the form located here on my website to recommend your friends, neighbors and local organizations that deserve to be acknowledged!