Vote-grubbing politicians are quick to tell us that the America we know and love is in danger of a Roman Empire-style collapse. In their well-worn bombast, they blame individual and corporate greed and callous indifference to the general health and happiness of society. The facts tell a different story. 
The Wall Street Journal reports that individual, foundation and corporate philanthropy has rocketed upwards since the Great Recession of 2008-09. In 2014 total giving “rose 7.1 percent in current dollars and 5.4 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis compared with 2013,” WSJ reporter Daisy Maxey wrote in the June 16 edition.  
While there are no precise figures on giving at the local level, practically all of us in Warren County enjoy the benefits of individual and corporate philanthropy. Among the major donors that impact the community are Bridgestone Americas, Yorozu Automotive Tennessee, Jarden Consumer Solutions/Oster Professional Products, River Park Hospital, Ben Lomand Connect, members of the Business Roundtable Action Committee (BRAC) and the Middle Tennessee Dr Pepper Bottling Company.
The most recent and likely the most visible example of corporate benefaction is the state-of-the-art scoreboard at Nunley Stadium at Warren County Middle School. Dr Pepper Bottling Company and its owner, Doug Milner, donated the high-luminosity, energy-efficient device to the school.
But it’s just the latest of these upper-value donations as the same company has funded electronic scoreboards in all of the county’s schools for as long as anyone can remember. The local soft drink distributor has also provided the unlimited technical services of one of its employees, Mike Hutcheson, in repairing and servicing the scoreboards in collaboration with the school system’s maintenance department. 
The Dr Pepper brand and its many soft-drink varieties have been enjoyed by area citizens since 1938. Under ownership by the Milner family since 1965, the company has honored that loyalty by returning benefits in ample measure. From its Fourth of July fireworks spectacular to countless other examples of community service, this family-owned business has worked to build up the neighborhood. 
The citizens of Warren County join the school board, education administrators, student athletes, their families and sports fans in welcoming the new scoreboard at Nunley Stadium. And we emphatically thank and commend the principal benefactors, Mr Milner and his Dr Pepper franchise, for their exemplary and inspiring generosity. Milner is a genuinely modest and self-effacing person who tries to avoid the public spotlight. But simple virtue has a way of rising to the top, and that’s why we thank and commend him.
And one further advantage of the new Nunley Stadium scoreboard: that mournful wail of the old end-of-period marker has been banished forever. In its place will be a genteel, easy-on-ear tone. Drink up, Dr Pepper! 
 Bill Zechman is a State Farm Insurance agent and member of the school board.