Tony Orlando and Dawn had a big hit song in the 1970s about tying a ribbon around the old oak tree as a welcome-home sign.

Kind of funny, as a kid we thought it was about a guy returning home after having done his time in prison, but most other people tell me it was having done his time in the service.

Either way, the guy was pretty sure his life was about to change again based on whether someone special had tied a yellow ribbon around that tree. No ribbon meant that he could stay on the bus and forget about us and it was his own fault. But as you would expect, romance won the day and everybody lived happily ever after.

OK now that the song is stuck in your head for the rest of the day, here is another story for you.

Two weeks ago some of the employees at the Eagle came up with an idea to sell specially designed bows made from ribbons they tied themselves as a way to raise money for hospital workers and the hospital foundation. It seemed like a nice idea, and as approval was given to use the Butler Eagle as a vehicle for reaching the community with the idea, we hoped that the employees would be rewarded by having a successful campaign that might even raise a couple of thousand dollars for the cause.

We crossed our fingers and got out of the way as the #WeGotThisButlerCounty campaign began. Why we ever underestimate these workers or the generosity of the community is bewildering.

At the end of the first couple of days we asked for a progress report and were pleased to hear the charity drive had already exceeded 100 ribbons sold. And as each day has passed the update just grew more and more amazing: 200, 400, 800 and 1,000.

As of today, the orders total over 1,500. With a donation of $10 for each ribbon hand-tied and delivered to our customers, the crew has raised over $15,000 for the Butler Health System Foundation.

To say we are pleased and proud would be an understatement for certain. To say we are surprised would be far less of a reach than you might imagine.

These fine people who work for us are really amazing and never seem to stop searching for ways to stretch the reach of the company’s impact on the community we serve. They had just completed a Christmas project to buy a special hospital bed for a special-needs child.

Then while they might have been worried about themselves and the need for our work to continue bringing you all the local news, they jumped into this. There were support people from across the other areas of the newspaper, but the vast majority of the work was done by the Butler Eagle circulation department employees.

They ordered the ribbon, fought with vendors for special delivery speeds and favored rates. They picked up the boxes of ribbon, and the office crew painstakingly tied bow after bow.

The district managers and some co-workers became bow delivery specialists, and they got the job done. We were also blessed to have a number of friends of the organization volunteer to tie bows: 1,5000 ribbons in two weeks. So impressive and so unselfish.

None of them would have wanted this article written and might not be too pleased that we mentioned them. But we want you to know how special this effort was and how pleased we are that we have these people representing us every day.

If you haven’t ordered your bows yet, give them a call and congratulate them on their idea, their execution and their result. Orders can be placed by calling 724-431-2237. Final day to order is Monday.

— RV