At our schools, in our parks, throughout our neighborhoods and behind the scenes at the events and everyday places that bring us together, their time, care and commitment become part of the rhythm of community life.
This November, we wanted to pause and say thank you to three of them.
Virgil Woods
Spend a few minutes with Virgil Woods outside Campbell Middle School and you quickly realize that even when he’s talking to you, part of his attention is always somewhere else.
On the students. On the traffic. On the next child headed toward the crosswalk.
Nine years into his job as a crossing guard, Virgil was answering a question when a student approached and, mid-sentence, he switched immediately into crossing-guard mode.
“Heads up, heads up,” he called. “When you're coming this way, are you looking this way? Looking that way?”
Then, just as quickly, he turned back to the conversation.
“This is my arena,” he said.
It suits him.
Virgil became a crossing guard because he loves kids, loves people and wanted a way to help in his community. Spend any time watching him with Campbell students and it’s easy to believe him.
“Oh, they love me,” he said with a smile.
He clearly loves them right back.
Afternoons can bring two or three busloads of students walking his way at once — some talking, some playing and plenty distracted. At the same time, he keeps an eye on drivers who don’t always slow down enough for a school zone.
“You have to really be on your job,” he said.
Because underneath the joking and easy banter is something Virgil takes very seriously: for those few minutes, those kids are his to look after. He talks about protecting them and “guiding them on home” to their mothers and fathers.
It is a small window in their day, but to Virgil, it matters.
And when the yellow vest comes off, he has another favorite place to be. Virgil is taking a swimming class and gets in the pool whenever he can.
Then the next school day, he’s back at Campbell — watching, waving, calling out reminders and making sure his kids get safely through his arena.
Bert Turnell
A family gathering under a park pavilion. Kids racing toward a playground. A Saturday ball game. Neighbors filling downtown for Coming Home for the Holidays.
Those are the moments Smyrna residents remember.
Bert Turnell knows how much work happens before them.
As Parks Maintenance Supervisor for the City of Smyrna, Bert and his team care for 29 parks — parking lots, trails, playgrounds, restrooms, pavilions, ball fields and nearly everything in between. He also helps provide the behind-the-scenes logistical support that keeps many of Smyrna’s community events running.
But ask Bert about that work and he quickly starts talking about his team.
His nine-person parks staff works seven days a week, with Public Works frequently stepping in to help with what he calls the “heavy lifting.” Their work happens in summer heat, winter cold, on holidays and, as Bert points out, even through a pandemic.
Someone still has to show up.
For Bert, there is something especially meaningful about doing that work here.
“Smyrna is home,” he said. “I grew up here, went to high school here, attend church here. Smyrna is family.”
Some of his favorite moments come when the work is finished and the community arrives. He loves Coming Home for the Holidays, when families gather for the city’s annual tree lighting, and finds particular meaning in Smyrna’s Memorial Day and Veterans Day observances. The recent dedication of Dr. David Martin Memorial Park was personal, too; Martin was his friend.
Perhaps that is one of the rewards of work done well behind the scenes: eventually, you get to step back and watch someone else enjoy it.
Their work becomes part of the experience itself — in the parks we enjoy, the events we gather for and the spaces that help Smyrna feel like home.
Paul Osburn
Before Paul Osburn was responsible for helping keep Smyrna moving, he was a kid growing up here.
He attended Belmont Hills Elementary, Campbell Middle School and Campbell High School. At 20 years old, Paul went to work for the City as a member of the Building and Grounds crew.
That was 2007.
Nearly two decades and a remarkable number of roles later, Paul was recently named Smyrna’s Director of Public Works.
“It’s been quite a journey,” he said.
Along the way, he learned the city from the ground up — quite literally.
Public Works crews maintain roads, drainage systems, sidewalks, traffic infrastructure and public facilities. They clear debris, respond to storms and water issues, coordinate emergency repairs, prepare for severe weather and continually inspect and plan for what might be needed next.
“Much of the work is most successful when residents never have to notice it,” Paul said.
His own workday often starts around 4 a.m. and ends around 5 p.m.
Paul believes in leading by example, and colleagues know him as someone willing to step in when something needs doing. He doesn’t consider that particularly remarkable.
“I have a hard time standing by when I know I can help,” he said. “I guess, over time, that just became part of who I am.”
Now, as he steps into the director’s role, he does so in the city that raised him.
“For me, serving Smyrna is more than just a job — it’s personal,” Paul said.
And maybe that is what connects all three of these men.
A street corner. Twenty-nine parks. An entire city’s infrastructure.
Very different responsibilities, but the same quiet commitment to showing up, caring for what has been entrusted to them and leaving their corner of Smyrna a little better than they found it.
There are hundreds of ways to serve a community.
Sometimes gratitude simply begins with noticing the people who do.