I would like to nominate Debra Wade as a Russell County Hero. Debra has been married to Greg Wade for 28 years and has two sons, Timothy Wade and Sam Wade.

I have known Debra for many years. I first met her when I signed my son up for Cub Scouts, and she was one of the leaders of our local Troop.

Debra’s two sons were part of the Troop, and she always displayed an eagerness and enthusiasm that I found a constant source of amazement. She was calm and unflappable and worked tirelessly for the Troop, and I could see that she was also involved in many community activities, groups, and causes, and I wondered how she found the time to accomplish everything. 

Our Troop had two strong female leaders at that time, and I remember wondering where all the men were who you would think would be the natural leaders of a group called the “Boy” Scouts. 

I think that some of the other troops with the traditional male hierarchy in place may have looked at us askance—but Debra never complained about the reluctance of the men to step forward and assume leadership roles in the troop, she just did what was required, quietly and without fanfare.

 I came to greatly admire her and my admiration and affection has only increased over the years I have known her. Under her tutelage, Troop 241, a troop that began in 1996 with 5 boys, has seen 12 young men attain the rank of Eagle Scout. 

Her two sons Tim and Sam Wade were a part of that group, as well as my son Cody York.

I am so grateful for the positive impact that Debra has had, not only on the life of my son, but on the lives of so many of our Russell County youth.

It is not only the Boy Scouts that have benefited from her involvement, but she has also worked tirelessly with the youth of her church (Union Baptist on Gosser Ridge—I urge you to contact either their Pastor, Don Emerson, or their Youth Leader Shawn for more detailed descriptions of her impact on the youth there).

I think the best testimony as to Debra’s positive impact on her family, her community, and her church, has come from her son, Tim Wade, who I will quote verbatim:

“I would have to preface anything I could say about my mother by saying that she is unequivocally the most self sacrificing person I know.

Her entire life has been spent denying herself so that others may benefit.

She has been the exemplary wife as described in Ephesians 5, and has served my father with unwavering devotion.

With my brother and I she has often done without so that we could have the niceties that we wanted, and we didn’t always realize at the time the sacrifice she was making.  She did not, however, simply indulge our every whim.

She constantly pushed us and encouraged us to grow into the best men we possibly could and tried to see to it personally that we did.

In an age when many parents pass their parental obligations off to any willing party; including our schools, coaches, other parents, and even our televisions, computers, and video game systems, our mother (sometimes frustratingly) refused to shirk her duties. She voluntarily gave of her time to personally see to it that we succeeded in school and anything else we were involved in.

The two most vivid examples involve our involvement with Church, and with Boy Scouts.

With both organizations she has tirelessly worked to not only ensure the success of my brother and me, but also to ensure the success of countless other young men and young ladies.

Along the way, she has touched countless lives and helped transform young people into mature adults. She has been there every step of the way with all of us.

Going on mission trips, camp-outs, leading the church youth, teaching Sunday School, volunteering for field trips, driving thousands of miles, even hiking 70+ miles through the New Mexico wilderness, not once, but twice.

All of these examples were not only for the benefit of my brother and me, but also for the countless other young people who she hoped to positively influence.

All the while, she has never asked for and never expected any type of reward or compensation. 

Her reward has been the joy of helping.”

As you can see, Debra Wade is a person of sterling character.

The Boy Scouts of America, the group that Debra has dedicated herself to over the years, is still the nation’s premier character building group for young boys.

 Troop 241 is still active in our community. 

If you want your son involved in the scouting program, they meet at Liberty Baptist Church (which charters the troop) on Monday evenings.

Please call either Debra Wade at 866-2153 or current Scout Master Kelly Comer at 866-7549.

Scout Sunday is coming up at Liberty Baptist Church on February 8th.

There will be many Eagle Scouts in attendance, the guest preacher will be Tim Wade, and music will be provided by Sam Wade and his group.