Over the past several weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know several Natchez residents a lot better than I knew them before.

I, along with other staffers of The Natchez Democrat, have been working on our annual Profile edition the past several weeks to interview and photograph 100 people to know in the Miss-Lou.

The theme is a great opportunity to highlight some of the many people who work so hard to make the Miss-Lou a great place to live.

One person we chose to profile for this edition went to social media and jokingly posted something to the effect of, The Natchez Democrat has selected me as one of the 100 people to know in the Miss-Lou. I didn’t realize the population had dwindled to 99 people here, but it must have if I’m one of the top 100.

All kidding aside, as we were pulling our list together we strived to get people in this year’s Profile edition who are not always in the spotlight, unsung heroes of our community.

Of course we did include some of the typical people who are recognized in the newspaper on regular basis just because of their impact on the community.

Many of the people we are profiling, however, work quietly behind the scenes to do good deeds and work to help make the community a better place.

This list of people also is not some hierarchical list of “most important” type people. These are simply people you need to know about in the Miss-Lou, so don’t be upset if you were not included.

Everyone has a story to tell and many people have many stories to tell. In writing our biographies of the 100 people you need to know in the Miss-Lou, we worked hard to get to the essence of who these people are, why they are someone to know in the Miss-Lou, whether it is their current, ongoing contributions or contributions they have made in the past or just because they are nice, friendly people who epitomize the good nature of the people of the Miss-Lou.

As I’ve gone out to photograph and interview the 20 or so people I have on my list, I have been struck at how humble most of them are.

They may not realize the impact their lives have made on the people and the world around them but we do.

Everyone’s existence makes a difference, and how you choose to influence and affect the world and people around you ultimately decides who you are and how the world views you.

I’m proud of the 100 people we have selected to be highlighted in our 2020 Profile edition, and I’m sure you will enjoy reading about them when the section publishes on Feb. 23.

If you were not included on our list this time, I’m sure your story will one day make it into the pages of The Natchez Democrat if it hasn’t already.

Everyone has a story to tell.

Scott Hawkins is editor of The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at 601-445-3540 or scott.hawkins@natchezdemocrat.com.