Nothing can replace the loss of a great leader.

Monday, February 07, 2000

Nothing can replace the loss of a great leader. The unique qualities and vision that allowed the leader to make tough decisions and gravely weigh matters of public importance are gone forever.

And Ironton will miss those abilities in Dorothy Nenni who passed away Friday, leaving behind the city she once helped lead.

Many of us might not have lived here, or might not have involved ourselves with government, when she helped develop Ironton’s charter.

We might not have watched as she held the gavel at council meetings and presided over city issues in the 1970s and 1980s with an eye for improvements.

Yet, the care with which Mrs. Nenni studied city business, the concern she gave to Ironton’s communities, live on in the benefits we feel to this day.

Through her example, then, she shall remain an inspiration to all.

Now, our task seems simple – we must band together to continue building up our community.

We cannot give up hope.

Work must be done – hard work. Ideas must be put forth with determination. And the solution will not come easily. Choices might have to be made.

We can only hope that as we struggle, as we support our town, as we seek the right answers, we will seek wisdom and vision the way Mrs. Nenni did.

Let us think of her today, and every day.