The Violet Hill Cemetery in Perry took a beating from the Aug. 10 derecho storm. Trees were toppled and some 400 headstones were blown over.

Caretakers of the cemetery faced with the daunting task of getting the site back into a good state of repair received a helping hand from Fort Dodge.

Kallin Johnson Monument Co., based in Fort Dodge, dispatched three workers and two trucks equipped with cranes to the site. The crew worked for at least eight hours on Friday, righting and repairing numerous stones.

All of that work was done for free. The company volunteered the use of personnel and equipment, which could have been elsewhere working on something that would have brought revenue to the business, to help at the cemetery.

Company workers may be going back there after more of the fallen trees are cleared away.

”When a storm like this happens, it’s not anybody’s fault and since we have the expertise to help them out, we do that,” said Scott Johnson, the company’s president and chief operating officer.

”It’s a good thing to volunteer,” he added.

It is indeed good to volunteer. Johnson’s words apply to every business and every person. The world would be a better place if every business and every person volunteered even a little bit to help others.

Kallin Johnson Monument Co. set the example by sending personnel and equipment to Perry to help restore a cemetery in that community.

We thank them for their efforts and encourage others to follow their example.