To The Editor:

My older brother, Adam, had a nickname for me when we were kids: “Tough Guy.”

It was partly because I was always the knuckle-headed one in the family, and partly because I grew up in John Wayne country.

My father raised us on a diet of WW II and Western movies to the point that I’m surprised I wasn’t

named “Shane.” A big part of being a tough guy is not crying.

But it has been almost impossible to keep a dry eye over the past two weeks whenever I see the outpouring of support from Lehigh Acres residents for the people of Haiti.

It is no secret that Lehigh Regional Medical Center has been collecting dry goods, clothing, and money for World Harvest Missions to send to the relief efforts in Haiti, and it should be no surprise that the response is amazing.

The first day after the earthquake, more than $4,000 was donated. People came from as far away as Cape Coral and Naples to drop off checks, and goods came from Captiva and Fort Myers.

But, of course, the bulk of the material came from right here in Lehigh Acres.

I get misty eyed when I think about that. Lehigh Acres is leading the charge on relief efforts. The town that was vilified by bigger papers and magazines, the town that has had noses thumbed at it for years.

We may be a small town, but we’ve got bigger hearts here than anywhere else.

In the few years I’ve been here in Lehigh, I’ve come to see firsthand how generous this community is. There is no event, big or small, that people in

Lehigh cannot overcome. We take care of our own through civic organizations like Kiwanis, through our churches, and through Lehigh Community Services.

We’ve banded together through natural disasters, through economic disasters, and we still have the same Lehigh spirit that believes we can make things

better.

Lehigh is not a town where we wait for someone else to help. We don’t rely on bailouts, or on someone else to make a difference. We’re a town that steps up and does what we can, knowing that we won’t raise a million dollars by getting one huge check, but rather by getting a million $1 checks.

During a time in American history when things seem to focus so much on what is going wrong in the world, people in Lehigh keep showing me what is right.

An elderly woman walked into the hospital one day last week with a $20 check.

“I’ll have some more for you,” she said, “as soon as my next Social Security check arrives.” Small town. Big heart.

And that can bring tears to a tough guy’s eyes.

Chris Rukunas

Lehigh Acres

Rukunas is Lehigh Regional Medical Center’s chief financial officer. – Ed.