It takes a lot of dedication and giving-of-self by people of the Butler area to make the community Thanksgiving Meal a success year after year.

Thursday's dinner, featuring all of the traditional trimmings, was an event about which the entire county could again feel proud, serving approximately 575 meals.

Many of those meals went to shut-ins - people who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner. Some people without transportation were given rides to the meal.

Most noteworthy, however, was the number of volunteers who gave up part of their holiday to make possible this event. This was a great example of the Butler giving spirit, which projects itself in other ways during the course of each year.

Also worthy of praise are the merchants and individuals who donated food for the meal. Again, so much was donated that there were some leftovers, some of which were targeted for Friday's community meal at the First United Methodist Church.

The holidays are about giving. The community Thanksgiving Meal lived up to that in a great way.