It’s Volunteer Week and although I must have missed the memo, I was pleasantly surprised when returning home from Hannaford Saturday morning, my wife and I came upon a group of at least 20 neighbors and friends walking south along Back Narrows Road, carrying bags, wearing gloves and holding gripping sticks, doing their annual roadside clean-up of garbage and returnable bottles and cans. It was a great sight to see.

I say it was annual but I am not certain that it has happened every year – but I do know that it has been several years they have banded together for this volunteer effort. Thank you all for making the road I, and many others, travel daily much better to look at.

A couple of years back, I helped them by clearing both sides of the road near my house for about 150 yards. It was not easy as the southbound edge of the road banks down about 10 to 12 feet and, not being as fleet afoot as 20 years ago, it took longer than I expected – crawling up that embankment on slippery leaves was an adventure … and funny when I fell flat on my face a few times.

I know there are other clean-up details around the region – Southport Island Association holds annual clean-up events – but a bunch of neighbors, friends and residents on the road deserve a lot of credit for coming together and doing a dirty job – especially the many kids we saw helping out.

I will have to pick up that one bottle I saw buried under leaves about 20 feet from my driveway – on the flatter northbound side –sometime this week. Sorry I missed Saturday’s effort but again, thank you all.

Thank you, too, to the many volunteers in the region for the organizations featured in this week's special section.