Putting one’s bell where one’s mouth is ….

The afternoon was brisk and breezy as I walked form my car to the entrance of Walmart on Grand Caillou Road, about to test the old adage that if you can’t find what you are looking for at the nation’s great mass retailer, you probably don’t need it.

While approaching the entrance I heard a bell ring, that steady, almost-a-tinkle that is synonymous with the holiday season. As I approached I saw a man whose face was slightly obscured by the brim of his hat. He appeared to know me, and greeted me by name.

“Let’s do a selfie,” he said.

It took me a moment or two — thrown off as I was by the wide-brimmed hat — to realize that the bell-ringer beside the big Salvation Army donation pot was the Rev. Kirby Verret. Kirby is pastor of the United Methodist Church Clanton Chapel in Dulac and an elder of the Houma Indian tribe. He has been a member of the Terrebonne Council on Aging’s board of directors and performed more community services than any list could ever properly list. He has also touched the lives of many students in the school system through his work with the Title VI Indian Education Program within the Terrebonne Parish school system.

With so many things to do, I asked Kirby, how is it that he can have time to stand at this store entrance and ring this bell.

“I’m on the Salvation Army board,” he said with a shrug. “We need people to stand out here, and I’m no better than anybody else.”

There are many people who join boards and organizations, very often with the intent of doing a great deal of public good. The luster doesn’t always last. The great demands that come with giving of self in these situations can be daunting. Worse yet, as Kirby is well aware, there are all kinds of potentials for criticism. Helping out one organization can be exhausting enough. But with his preaching and his work and other services he performs that benefit so many people, this man of God proves undeniably that he is a man of action. Kirby Verret has put his bell where his mouth is, not only advocating for the Salvation Army, a worthy organization indeed, but by putting his whole body into it.

As Kirby stood there ringing his bell you would have sworn that he is the mayor of Grand Caillou Road. People stopped and offered him their good wishes. Kirby returned them, and in some cases even found a kiss or two planted on his cheek.

For Kirby Verret it goes with the territory. And yes, we did indeed take that selfie. After tending to my business at the big retail outlet, I found myself a little more Christmassy on the drive home. This was because with the sighting of Kirby Verret, I indeed saw Christmas spirit in action.

Salvation Army