A Long-Lost Letter Found, Now This

By Maurice Carter, Sustainable Newton Co-Founder & Past President

Covington Assistant City Manager John King with a Sep 2, 1957 Life Magazine cover featuring his great uncle David Simons.

Vision, planning, and hard work make good things happen. But don't underestimate the power of serendipity.

In an earlier blog post, I told of an old letter my wife found tucked inside a book in her office.  Written to her while she was Mayor of the City of Covington, the letter prompted me to reflect on my own memories of its writer, Dr. David G. Simons, and a presentation he gave to the Covington mayor and council back in 2008.  The subject of the letter and that presentation was Climate Change.

In a subsequent conversation with current Assistant City Manager John King, he told me Dr. Simons was his great uncle.  John also told me his father had an autographed original of the 1957 Life Magazine cover featuring Dr. Simons, which his father was lending to the  Covington Welcome Center.

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That conversation moved me to propose to current Mayor Steve Horton and the City Council that they issue a proclamation to honor Dr. Simons at the Sustainable Newton's Earth Day Celebration to be held April 22 as part of the Covington Family YMCA's Cheerios Challenge 5 & 10K race.  So that all happened this past weekend.

You can read the full proclamation here, and you can watch Mayor Horton read the text during the April 17 city council meeting.

It's magical to be part of a chain of passion, caring, and commitment to something larger than ourselves that runs from generation to generation. And it is a blessing to have the chance to pause and realize I am a part of it.  We all are.  It was heartwarming to think of Dr. Simons getting recognition for his contributions to space exploration, medical science, and to our community and the planet.  Earth Day at the Cheerios Challenge was the perfect time and place to honor our past and celebrate the future of the young people our YMCA serves.

On behalf of all Sustainable Newton members, I want to thank the City of Covington for making this moment possible, as well as the Covington Family YMCA for allowing us to host our Earth Day Celebration as part of the Cheerios Challenge event.  See more of our photos below.