Imagine yourself flipping through the newspaper and suddenly ... surprise! ... you see your photograph and a column describing you as a Neighbourhood Hero, an exemplary friend, workmate, neighbour, child, parent, or grandparent. It would probably take you a few minutes to recover from the shock.

Well, Tom and Joyce Huck are just now starting that recovery process.

Like a lot of grandparents, Tom and Joyce have spent years always being there doing little things for others and never expecting ... and certainly not looking for ... a pat on the back.

The certificate their daughter-in-law, Debra, has for them reads, "If you need a hand, Tom and Joyce are always there to help. Whether it's donating homemade crafts for cystic fibrosis auctions, growing dahlias for their grandchildren to sell and raise money for CF research, attending all of their grandchildren's special events, delivering part of their own Christmas dinner to elderly neighbours or gardening for their friend who had a stroke, whatever the need, Tom and Joyce are always there to help."

It's great to have those one in a million heroes who climb the highest mountains, throw a baseball a hundred miles and hour or write billion selling novels - They motivate many of us. But those heroes aren't usually around when a child needs a hug or someone to attend their dance recital; when a neighbour needs a fried; when a family member needs a special favour.

Tom and Joyce are the kind of heroes that are always there when you need them and since they have six grandchildren, they keep themselves very busy ferrying various kids to dentists, doctors and orthodontists and, even more important, attending at all their dance recitals, horseback riding events and softball, basketball and lacrosse games.

Last summer when their grandson, Evan, spent several weeks in the cystic fibrosis clinic in Vancouver, Tom and Joyce were at his bedside for two or three days during each week while his parents were at work. Of course his parents were there on the weekends. So Evan had lots of company.

Do you think Evan thought of them as heroes? He probably wouldn't use that word but I'll bet he does. And do you think, given their example that he'll end up being the same kind of person? I think so too. That kind of caring is contagious.

And Joyce and Tom's caring isn't kept just within the family. They have many seniors in their neighbourhood and often, during various special seasons, one or more of them isn't well enough to cook for themselves so frequently a plate is piled high and delivered to their door. And a couple of years ago, when one of Tom's friends had a stroke, who do you think turned up to look after his garden?

Of course we could probably fill a book if we started to document all the little things that Tom and Joyce have done for others over the years, little things that have made a huge difference in their family and neighbourhood.

It's great to have those one in a million heroes to admire but the people who really make a difference in this world for moat of us are people like Tom, Joyce and the Neighbourhood Heroes you know.

Do your kids have grandparents that haven't yet been acknowledged, grandparents that might just appreciate getting a Neighbourhood Heroes certificate from you? To make that happen all you have to do to is go to www.nhero.org and complete a nomination form.

And while you are at it, have you thanked your other Neighbourhood Heroes recently?