Recently, we have been discussing ways to highlight the wonderful acts of kindness, usually unnoticed, that happen daily around the community. We landed on “#SpreadtheSmiles”, which is going to be our way of recognizing the #EverydayHero who goes out of their way to do something nice for someone else. While we specialize in helping kids who lose a parent, we understand that there are so many stories worthy of being told. That’s exactly why as soon as we heard what happened at our local Flowery Branch Chick-Fil-A (let's be honest, we eat here at least 3x per week), it was obvious who our first #SpreadTheSmiles #EverydayHero would be!
When you think of Chick-Fil-A, you immediately think of tasty chicken and unmatched service. Logan Simmons is a Junior Leader at the Chick-Fil-A at Stonebridge Village in Flowery Branch, and he took "my pleasure" to a whole new level. Logan was working the drive-thru window when he a driver told him that a child was choking. A seatbelt somehow became tangled around a 6 year old's neck. Logan immediately jumped through the window, located the choking boy, opened the door, and cut the seat belt loose with his pocket knife.... Saving the boy's life.
When the news came out about this heroic act, we watched the video and immediately recognized Logan! We knew that Logan would be the perfect first recipient of our #SpreadTheSmiles #EverydayHero. It’s safe to say that saving a child’s life and continuing on with the day like nothing crazy happened is something that not many of us could do, but Logan managed to do exactly that.
We spoke to Teri, Logan's mom, on Friday 6/28 over the phone. We spoke for about 30 minutes, just getting to know each other a little better. We explained what our #SpreadTheSmiles #EverydayHero initiative was, and also who November Smiles was.... And that is where the story gets even more interesting. Teri, with tears in her eyes and lump in her throat, was thanking us. Then she went on to explain that Logan lost his father when he was 8 years old to the ugly C word. Everything immediately came full circle. Our new initiative to recognize Logan as an #EverydayHero has now also turned into a November Smile.
We found out that Logan recently graduated high school, and he has been saving up money to buy his own car. #SpreadTheSmiles not only comes with recognition, but usually some small token of our appreciation of them making a difference in someone’s life. With Logan also growing up without a father, we decided to deliver a special November Smile and #SpreadTheSmiles gift to him at work today,
and make a small donation to Logan’s car fund.
In our immediate family, there are 8 kids, ages 13, 7, 5, 5, 4, 3, 3, and 1. All we could think about was how we would be forever in Logan's debt if he did this for our family. We were moved so much that Logan was an obvious choice. If everyone had just a little bit of the bravery and selflessness that Logan has, the world would be a much better place. Go out and #SpreadTheSmiles today!
You can see Logan's interview on a local Atlanta news station, as well as the surveillance footage from him leaping out the window, at the link below: