Faces of Arvada: John Kuntz

By Stan Dyer

We can turn on the television or radio anytime, or just open the newspaper to encounter stories of violence, greed, selfishness and hate. It makes a person wonder whatever happened to the American values of unity, goodwill and community. Then, you run into a person like John Kuntz.

John has been my neighbor for as long as I can remember. I never met him until just a few years ago, and I do not know why. He is everywhere. He is not just everywhere to be there, he is everywhere helping someone. Whether it is driving a neighbor to the doctor, using his truck to help someone bring home a large purchase from the store, fixing a friend's lawnmower, or simply taking doughnuts to the workers at the Thrift Store for no particular reason, John is there. In a sense, he is an anachronism in today's "Does anyone live on this planet but me?" society. His sense of community takes us back and recalls the days when citizens relied on each other for their mutual existence.

America began on the agrarian ethic of looking out for each other, lending that helping hand when needed, and just being there for friends and community, all done without the expectation of monetary gain. Somewhere along the way, we began to lose touch with those unique, America qualities and began to drift toward something different. Some people notice, and others do not, but few do little more than talk about the change. Few, if any ever considering influencing a change back by changing themselves and the way they think. John is different.

Oh, he might complain a bit about the way things are, but he does not stand around pointing fingers. Instead, he is busy living the way more of us should live, and setting a good example to follow. He may not realize it, but people notice. I sure notice. When I see people like John behaving that way, it makes me look at myself and realize that I, too, could be doing more of that. I am inspired to be a better citizen, and I am certain I am not the only one. So, in a sense, by being the person he is, John not only makes our community better with his acts of citizenship, he makes our citizenship better with his acts of community, and everybody wins.

I am happy to have a neighbor like John and I feel better about my community just knowing that people like John exist within it to help each other and set a good example for others to follow. When I grow up, I want to be just like John.