Ralph Waldo Emerson once said the following: "It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.

What did he mean by that?

Well it's quite simple.

There are heroes among us that traverse our daily existence.

They don't get the publicity they deserve or want, because they are unsung heroes.

We desire to change that.

Unsung Heroes are people that by sight are just regular people. You might brush shoulders with them in a supermarket or see them sitting across from you in a crowded eatery.

They might even live in your own home and you never recognize them as a hero.

These people have their own lives and responsibilities like the rest of us.

They earn a living, tend to their families, teach school, fight fires, and keep their homes nice and tidy or basically whatever the day demands of them.

They may not even recognize themselves as a hero when they reach out and do good deeds for others.

You may never think you are a hero for things you do, but when you show compassion for someone else or courage in helping others, you are a hero.

So in our upcoming Horizons edition coming out in February, we are going to give our readers the opportunity to share who they believe is an unsung hero.

This special section will be where we celebrate life by honoring the men, women and children who have shared their life by giving of themselves to those in need.

We want this section to be a guide for others.

We want it to encourage and stimulate our readers into realizing ordinary people do make a difference.

A true hero does not want publicity and recognition. They want to quietly and consistently give of themselves to their community.

Our purpose for this section is to share ideas and stories, give comfort and hope to those that have that need and inspire you to look within yourself and find that strength that is there. It may be so covered and mashed down with life's shadows that you didn't even know it was there.

So in the coming weeks, you'll see an advertisement on how you nominate someone as an unsung hero. After careful consideration, we will spotlight the top eight in the Horizons edition.

We'll also have one person who will serve as our overall civic ambassador for the next year.

All nominees will be listed in an honor roll.

In a nutshell, we hope this section will share with our readers who represents civic perfection at its finest.

To nominate an unsung hero, please write in a letter or email in 300 words or less why you believe your nominee is a hero.

Mail it to Unsung Heroes, c/o The Greenville Advocate, P.O. 507, Greenville, AL 36037, email it to jay.thomas@greenvilleadvocate.com or fax it to 382-7104.

So who is your hero?

We'd like to know.

Jay Thomas is the group managing editor Greenville Newspapers, LLC and can be reached at 383-9203, ext. 136 or via email at jay.thomas@montgomeryadvertiser.com.