Daniels Exemplifies How Newspapers And Their Employees Are Dedicated To Service And Committed To The Community
By Betsy Finklea
This week is National Newspaper Week, a time to recognize the importance of newspapers and how they make a difference in your community.
One of the things that sets local newspapers such as The Dillon Herald apart from regional and national publications is how much your local newspaper cares about the community.
One of our employees, Johnnie Daniels, exemplifies this daily. There is probably no one person more dedicated and committed to the progress of Dillon County and the success of the community than Johnnie Daniels.
Johnnie works tirelessly to help local businesses promote themselves through their advertising in the newspaper, on the web, and in social media. He is dedicated to helping businesses choose the best path to fit their advertising needs and budgets. To Johnnie, it is more than about just selling an ad; it is about how he can help local businesses grow and prosper. Their success is his success.
Johnnie loves high school and youth sports. He has taken sports photos since the 1970s even covering Rep. Jackie Hayes, when he was a high school player. When The Dillon Herald lost its sports editor, Johnnie stepped in taking over that position as well and spends many days and nights covering local sports on his own time to bring recognition to our youth. Johnnie feels strongly that the work and efforts of all of our teams and players should be recognized whether they win or lose. He is extremely proud of the efforts of all of our youth involved in local sports programs.
At The Dillon Herald, Johnnie does whatever needs to be done to keep things moving along. He loves yard work and has shared his talents at The Dillon Herald office keeping the yard and landscaping in impeccable condition. There are not many Saturday mornings that go by when Johnnie can’t be found working in the yard at The Dillon Herald.
Johnnie is also devoted to the community and has a special place in his heart for the less fortunate and underprivileged. Having grown up poor himself, he understands what it’s like not have everything that everyone else has or to sometimes go without. He always works to do things to help others.
Johnnie established The Dillon Herald’s Toy and Food Drive, which has helped hundreds in the community over the years. If it had not been for Johnnie’s idea, his care and concern for the less fortunate citizens in Dillon County, and his efforts year after year, many people in Dillon County would not have benefited from this worthwhile project. He is responsible for many of the less fortunate in our community having a merry Christmas.
Johnnie is the founder of a local group called Help For Veterans. This group has also touched numerous lives in the community. He started the group in honor of his brother, Jimmie, a Vietnam veteran who passed away in August 2016. Jimmie had asked him to do something to help veterans. They have an annual health fair and free meal and regularly provide food boxes for veterans in need. The group has also helped veterans with various bills when these veterans could not meet their financial obligations and participate in other efforts to help veterans.
Johnnie is an active member of Mount Calvary Baptist Church and works tirelessly to promote the church and its activities.
Johnnie is not a person who wants acclaim or seeks recognition for his actions.
He simply wants to help people and get things done. Johnnie is an outstanding individual and an extremely community-minded public servant.
It is our pleasure to recognize his efforts, his dedication to The Dillon Herald, and his commitment to the community during National Newspaper Week.
