People often recognize heroes seen in movies or on television series, but why not recognize real heroes that live in our communities? Yes, those Heroes who are constantly uplifting their communities and helping out in any area needed. Kearns Township has taken it upon themselves to recognize and reward some of these individuals. Every year, the city asks residents to cast their vote on who they believe deserves to be awarded. All nominees are then reviewed by the Kearns Community Council who makes their final selection based on factors such as; good deeds, volunteering, and trying to make a difference by bringing positivity to the community. This year’s winner is Sheldon Smith, a resident of Kearns who is described by others in the community as “a very selfless and kind person.” Smith, a long time resident of Kearns, has posted hundreds of positive messages to the Kearns community Facebook page over the years as a way to inspire and encourage others. “Always have faith on what you want to accomplish in life. Giving up is easy, but that won’t make you stronger! Keep preserving, keep being motivated, keep pushing through! You are a strong willed person that can and will accomplish the impossible!” This is one of many of the positive messages Smith has posted on the community page. Receiving positive feedback from others in the community. After being nominated, his longtime friend, Courtney Frieze shared a post on social media describing him as a, “fantastic and selfless human being” This led to an outpouring of positive replies from more people in the community, showing the impact Sheldon Smith has had on others. “Honestly, my faith has lots to do with that, definitely Jesus. My parents also. Ever since I was a kid they told me to always see the positive side of things no matter how grim” stated smith in an interview where he spoke about what motivates him to do this. Sheldon also shared about how others’ reactions to his post makes him feel, “its honestly overwhelming, when I started doing the post, I had no idea I’d make such an impact, I just did it one day because I was tired of seeing all the negative comments, post, people going back and forth, people arguing with each other, and I just thought well if no one’s going to put a stop to it, then I am going to try to at least,” With Smith’s great efforts to make a change and efforts of being there for his community, he has also received the same support back. “If I’m going through a hard time in my life I’ll jump right on the page and vent, and the outpouring of love and support I get from everybody is overwhelming. It shows me my neighborhood has my back. I’ve had several people invite me over, I’ve never lived anywhere in Utah where a community is that close. If one person is having a problem, we all get together to help that one person.” Sheldon Smith has made a great and positive contribution to the city of Kearns, where he has inspired and encouraged many and has no plans on stopping anytime soon. “One thing I really want to tell everybody, is that you’re going to have issues in life, you’re going to have problems, there’s no point in treating somebody else bad because you’re having a bad day, or you dislike that person, just treat people with kindness, it’s not that hard.” Smith was presented the Kearns Hometown Hero award on September 29th.