Becky Farmer is one of those people who finds it hard to say “no” when she sees a community need. And, so, when the then-new Souper Saturday program was getting its feet on the ground more than two decades ago, Becky agreed to chair it for a while.

Now, 23 years later, she is retiring from the volunteer position, having supervised the serving of literally tons of homemade soup, thousands of ham biscuits and a few tons of community goodwill.

Souper Saturday is the premier ecumenical church-sponsored event in Isle of Wight County. It brings together dozens of volunteers to work the soup lines and dozens more at home cooking soups.

In the end, Souper Saturday provides funds for assisting the county’s poor to buy fuel in the winter, but it does much more. It provides the county’s churches with a practical reason to get together and collectively turn their efforts toward helping our less fortunate.

It’s a huge project each year and Mrs. Farmer has shouldered the chairmanship with a smile and a friendly word for all those helping her.

She deserves a rest from that particular labor, but I suspect she will find additional outlets for her inexhaustible desire to help others. Thank you, Becky.