The power of many outweighs the power of one, but without one we can never become many.

This paraphrase of some classic quotes is at the heart of the Lawrence County Cleanup Day set for May 2.

In its first year, this event is expected to involve thousands of people from across the county. We applaud all those who have signed up to participate in this event that truly allows each of us the opportunity to show our pride in our county.

But we hope that everyone from Athalia to Hanging Rock and all the way to Blackfork recognize the work of an Ironton man that laid the groundwork for this civic involvement.

Randy Lilly started small 10 years ago when he put together the Volunteer Cleanup Day in Ironton with the goal of planting some trees, cleaning up some streets and planting some flowers.

What he did was plant a seed. And he came back each year to nurture that seed and help it grow.

Ready to retire and ride off into the sunset, Lilly has turned the reins of the Volunteer Day over to the Ironton in Bloom organization, a group he helped organize. IIB will be incorporating his event into the countywide project that we hope lasts at least as long as Lilly’s community project did.

Lilly planted a seed of civic pride in the hundreds of volunteers that came out to participate in the event each year and the thousands more that sat back and marveled at all that can be accomplished when the few becomes many.

And we have seen this impact on our community continue to grow.