Everybody enjoys a pat on the back now and then. It makes them feel their efforts are appreciated and often inspires them to work even harder toward their goals.

With that in mind, the City of Natchez started a program a few years back called Presentations Representing Our Unique Diversity, or PROUD.

Under that program, city officials recognize at monthly Board of Aldermen meetings people that have made a contribution toward the betterment of our community.

And the recipients are as diverse as the program&8217;s name implies, coming from all walks of life and recognized for all types of contributions.

Most recently, aldermen recognized Paul Perry, LaTonya Noble and LaPonda Noble for rescuing elderly Beaumont Street resident Marion Crawls from her burning house on July 19.

LaTonya Noble broke a porch window to enter Crawls&8217; buring house &8212; injuring herself in the process.

Then she, LaPonda Noble and Perry entered to rescue Crawls, who was sleeping at the time of the fire.

If it weren&8217;t for their brave efforts, Crawls might not be here today.

As part of the same program, Tywannaka Walters was honored for the part she played in late April in caring for several teens who were injured when the car in which they were driving flipped over.

Then consider Hillaire Long, a young Natchezian who was honored months ago for what she called her &8220;Guardian Angel&8221; program.

Under that program, citizens can pick up stickers from the Natchez Police Department to place in the rear windows of vehicles that are driven by teenagers.

Police who see vehicle with the stickers out after curfew can stop them to make sure everything&8217;s OK.

Long, seeing other teens die in vehicle crashes after curfew, saw it as a way to prevent other unnecessary deaths.

Another honoree was Nole Smith, a 73-year-old volunteer at the Natchez Senior Citizen Multipurpose Center, who was recognized for volunteering five days a week at the center.

Smith said he most enjoys helping others who can&8217;t return the favor.

Longtime educator Theresa Lewis, the Natchez High School girls&8217; track team &8230; all of these are among those who&8217;ve been honored as part of the city&8217;s PROUD program.

That program, along with other recognition programs such as Business of the Month and Employee of the Month, recognize those who make a contribution to our community &8212; but often, it&8217;s done behind the scenes.

Many times, it&8217;s the other news from our city&8217;s aldermen meetings that makes headlines &8212; and justifiably so, given the fact that taxpayers&8217; money is often at stake.

Still, the city&8217;s recognition programs are valuable in that they remind us that many of our fellow citizens are going above and beyond the call of duty.

Maybe they can inspire us to give our best for the community in which we live.

In any case, they make us proud.

Nita McCann

is city editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 445-3554 or by e-mail at nita.mccann @natchezdemocrat.com.