Our Readers Express Their Thankfulness

The Results Are In! Our Thankful Contest Winners Announced

The Results are in!

The 2017 VALUES Magazine Thankful Contest

Part of what it means to be thankful is to be conscious of the gift, benefit or pleasure received. Additionally, being thankful means expressing that consciousness, as well as the gladness that accompanies the feeling of thankfulness. Genuine thankfulness requires a bit more effort than I, and I suspect most of us, often take. Genuine thankfulness requires some pause and reflection about why a person, a thing, and event, a gesture, an object, a specific period of time, a gesture of forgiveness, a second chance or whatever it is, is meaningful for us.  
We received so many wonderful photographs from family to inspirational during our “Thankful” contest.  Some of our reader’s photos expressed wonderful experiences they had, others about family, some were inspirational and others about triumphing over challenges.  Here are our “Thankful” photo contest winners:

FIRST PLACE - Jerina Edwards

“I’m thankful for my husband, Rich. I was diagnosed with breast cancer is June of 2016. He never missed a chemo session, worked his schedule around doctors appointments & surgeries, did the work of two around the house, & kept life as normal as possible for our three kids all while continuing his work as a firefighter for the Jenks Fire Dept. plus working part time for the Jenks School District. He is a true hero to me & this community! He has been my rock & I’m sure is part of the reason I’ve been able to recover as well as I have.”

SECOND PLACE - Melissa Greiman

“I am so very thankful for my boys.  Many nights I drop into bed, exhausted from a day with these three.  But it is so satisfying to be raising brothers who love each other and are best friends.”

THIRD PLACE - Cindy Orosco

“I’m thankful I get to be a stay home mom, that I have the best baby a mother could as for. And a man that truly loves his family and comes home every night. Blessed beyond words!”

The winners were chosen in a random drawing and will receive prizes from The Pink House in Claremore and Edible Arrangements.
Thank you for joining us in remembering to pause and appreciate the things in our lives that make all the difference. Don’t forget to take time this holiday season to be grateful for what you have and for those people in your lives who make it special.