Commentary: A donut, coffee and a smile

By Gary P. Custer Jul 1995

Some members of the Olde Eastside Neighbors will not be spending Labor Day weekend at a beach or a park or even at a back yard cook-out. They will be at an interstate highway rest stop serving refreshments to travelers as they do during many holiday weekends.

They will accept donations to help pay for the refreshments, but what they do is a labor of love. Members say they started the program a few years ago to make the highways a little safer by giving drivers a break from the stress of highway driving.

It is a laudable goal which is probably appreciated by everyone who pulls off the highway at their rest stop, whether they are interested in the refreshments or not.

But their program, Operation Care, has another aspect, its effect on the image of Flint.

No matter where they are from or what they have heard about Flint, people who stop at the rest stop will continue on their journey with good feelings about Flint.

And, unlike the expensive official promotional campaigns to "improve Flint's image," it does not cost you a cent. The "Good Samaritans," by helping the travelers, are helping you by generating a positive image of Flint.

Frankly, we are tired of hearing Flint people complain about Flint's bad image and then do nothing but attack the "bearers of bad news" (such as Michael Moore), or advocate expensive public promotional campaigns to "sell Flint."

If you really care about what people think about your town, why not spend a few hours on a holiday weekend that can make a difference?

Join the Olde Eastside Neighbors or form your own group to save a few lives and generate a little goodwill at a rest stop.

Operation Brush Up is able to recruit hundreds of people to spruce up a neighborhood each year.

Getting enough people to volunteer to help travelers at rest stops around Flint on a regular basis should be a snap.

It would not be that expensive. A city government that can find money to help groups clean up their neighborhoods and plant traffic triangles should be able to find a little money to pay for the coffee and donuts used for such a program.

Take it from the budget of the periodic public relations programs which have little or no effect on Flint's image.

Why not ask service groups, such as the Rotary Club, to fund such a program and have some of their members spend a few hours each weekend doing something that can affect Flint's image?

A cup of coffee, a donut and a smile might just do more for Flint's image than all of the public relation programs ever devised.

GPC