A Red Mind In A Blue State

Last Saturday night, Tony Iovino a/k/a "A Red Mind In A Blue State" was honored as Citizen of the Year in his home town. I was delighted to be there to see it.

The presenters spoke of all the many volunteer positions that Tony has held in his town. Many of these positions require the special legal expertise that Tony brings to the table. Other positions require the ability to lead people with different agendas and different viewpoints to a common goal, another special talent that Tony has shown for all of the (xx) years that I have known him -- from the time that he was the President of our high school class -- and I am sure long before that.

The bio in the program talked about Tony’s visionary thinking, and how lucky the town was to have it. The truth is that in God’s world, leadership ability, talent and vision are not given out equally.

However, what most impressed everyone is not Tony’s willingness to volunteer his unique abilities, but the willingness of someone with Tony’s talents to volunteer his time and energy to do the things that anyone could do, but no one else bothers to do – like make the pancakes for the fund-raising Super Bowl breakfast.

In accepting the honor, Tony spoke of the importance of supporting local business, so that local business is there to support the community in times of need. Tony also stressed that his work is impossible without the love, support and the participation of every member of his family.

Congratulations, Tony.