Residents spotlight kind neighbors through Kindness Award nominations

     As a part of our celebration of National Random Acts of Kindness Week, Grain Valley News partnered with Scout Coffee to solicit your nominations of individuals who deserve a shout-out for their kindness. We selected four individuals to highlight, and each will receive a $25 gift card to Scout Coffee as our thank you for being beacons of kindness. 
     We received many nominations, and we will highlight additional folks throughout the rest of the week. But, without further ado, we share the four individuals who help exemplify what it means to be kind.

Carl Condra
nominated by Tisha Homfeld and Jerry Vaughan
     Tisha Homfeld shared in her nomination, "He is an active community member and has a heart of gold. I first meet Carl when my husband and I stopped by his house to see if he might be interested in selling some of his acreage. When he answered the door, I knew he was one of a kind. He smiled after I asked him and said nope it's all going to the kids. Then I asked him if he knew anyone that might be willing to sell just 3 acres as we were personally looking to build us a new home. After talking on his porch for some time he said come in and I will get you a number of a friend. It was like going back in time. He still had a home phone hooked to the wall and the address book on the little table under the phone. When I looked around, he had an old black and white TV in the kitchen with the TV show MASH on. That's when I just fell for Carl. He reminded me of my grandpa. One I barely remember since he had passed when I was a little girl. He is one you could just sit on the porch and listen to old stories all day. Fast forward a couple years and I meet a young lady that is wanting to buy a home. When I show her the first one her grandpa comes with her. It's Carl. His granddaughter was buying her first home and I was her Realtor. Since then, my husband and I ended up finding some land. We hadn't bought a tractor to mow it yet and Carl finds out where it is and loads up his tractor and goes to mow it for us. Refuses to take any money or be compensated. He is honestly a very sweet person with a kind heart. He still asked if we need anything for the land or if we need to borrow any farm equipment to this day. He is one of a kind."

Jerry Vaughan shared his thoughts on Carl in his nomination.
     "Carl is a longtime member of the Grain Valley Assistance Council board. He picks up the food donations from the various GVAC food barrels, and is the keeper of the aluminum can recycling bin located at Old Town Marketplace for the GVAC. And he has been doing all this and more for decades! Carl is one of those people who helps make Grain Valley a great place to live!"


Nancy Craddock
nominated by Lydia Wolfe
     "Nancy exudes kindness. She has worked in the SPED (special education) department at Grain Valley for years, and has helped so many kids succeed. When she isn’t at work, she’s usually either helping out her elderly mother, or helping watch the grandkids. She deserves this award!"



Jeff and Grace Flowers
nominated by Dustin Downing
     "Jeff and Grace have won the lights contest several years running, their willingness to share the joy of Christmas in ever growing radiance is amazing. They always have a smile and a wave for their neighbors and have even called when our AC unit was frozen over or when we've left our garage door open. People like Jeff and Grace are what truly make our town such a joy to live in!"



Ken Tuttle, ACO
nominated by Sherri Rusch
     "As a new person in the community and a dog lover, I noticed the many positive comments about Ken Tuttle, Grain Valley's ACO (animal control officer) on social media. Everyone who encounters him always speaks highly of him. I met him in person one day when a large stray wandered into my yard. Ken responded promptly and meeting the dog, immediately knew the dog's owner. As soon as Ken had the dog loaded, he was on his way to reunite the dog with its owners. Ken is very deserving. Thank you for helping us honor others!"

     Thank you, Grain Valley, for sharing your nominations, and thank you to Scout Coffee for partnering with​ us in this effort!