To the editor:

I am writing this letter to publicly thank Alderman Michael Mayfield for his continuous support of the young people in our community. We seldom see such support, as is his, that is constant and quiet without the ballyhoo and publicity that usually accompany such efforts.

Most recently, Mr. Mayfield has been both active and present for the Fuzzy Johnson Foundation, my efforts to create a new basketball league, and he regularly and quietly accompanies my boys and me on special, educational trips like the one last week to the Civil Rights Museum in Jackson.

It meant so much to me and to all of us that he was actually there, not in front of a camera, but in actual, lively, and sustained interaction with young people who don’t often get such attention.

Old people used to say that reputation is what people think you are; character is what you really are. What you do and say when nobody’s looking is really the thing that counts. That remains just as true today. And for me it is personified in the willingness and readiness of Mr. Mayfield to help in any way he can.

I truly appreciate him, and Vicksburg should too.

Ernest Galloway

Vicksburg