Spirit of America nominee: Wayne Wallingford

Nominated by Tom Wilmas

When we imagine what character qualities and patriotic service the Spirit of America nominee should embody, Wayne Wallingford comes to many Missourians' minds.

Undoubtedly, he represents an ideal role model of selfless service throughout his life, but he is also a blazing torch of hope for all of us in the uncertain days in which we live.

Wayne began his dedication to this country when he gave 25 years in the U.S. Air Force, serving in Vietnam and six tours in Desert Storm.

On a near-fatal flying mission, enemy shrapnel ripped into his aircraft, and Wayne's calm and courageous focus flew the limping aircraft safely back, which saved the lives of his fellow servicemen.

His service to his country did not end after he retired from the military as a lieutenant colonel. He has spent years training and equipping employees to succeed. He is the Chief People Officer at McDonald's of Southeast Missouri and previously spent 11 years as a general manager for Taco Bell, helping empower employees to move higher in life.

He volunteers many hours by providing leadership on such boards as United Way of Southeast Missouri, the SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence and Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition.

Wayne's influence on others is incalculable. Wayne began to serve the Missouri House of Representatives in 2010 because he saw Southeast Missourians' way of life, family values, Constitutional rights and freedoms under threat by encroaching big and wasteful government.

While in the House, he stood up unflinchingly for his constituents by sponsoring over 30 House bills defending and expanding the rights of the unborn, elderly, veterans, farmers, businesses and students. His sponsored legislation will save taxpayers millions of dollars in the future.

When a U.S. House seat became vacant, many Missourians told Wayne that he would be a shoo-in to win. Instead of advancing his own station, significantly increasing his pay, he remained Southeast Missourians' concerned advocate.

Always looking to help better Missourians' stations, he was asked to run for the State Senate and won against overwhelming odds.

Since 2012, he has sponsored 71 Senate bills. Those bills (too extensive to elaborate here) will help secure Missourians' safety, health, prosperity, and individuals' civil and religious rights for many years ahead.

He has been viciously and verbally attacked for remaining faithful to the values his constituents voted him into office to defend. He endured political hostility and even unkind slander without complaint or resentment.

What makes Wayne an extraordinary person is that he pays close attention to the lives of marginal, overlooked and forgotten men and women, people who scarcely figured and were rarely taken seriously in contemporary American life. Wayne has his fingers on the pulse of people's struggles few are willing to make their own and help lighten.

In conclusion, Wayne has worked tirelessly and has earned skyscraper success that makes most people's heads dizzy. Wayne has never esteemed personal status over empowering others to succeed.

There's one more compelling reason why he deserves to be the 2015 nominee, and that has to do with hope. Perhaps his greatest contribution is not just what he's selflessly done to advance others' stations; he constantly fills people with hope for a better future. Through Wayne's personable and gregarious nature, he spends a great deal of time inspiring others to have hope in uncertain and volatile times. That attitude serves others by encouraging them by his example of hard work, serving country, and helping others. He inspires men and women to strive to be great Americans. Wayne's life embodies the spirit of America: hard work, honesty, courage and sacrifice.

Community involvement

• Vice president of the Boys and Girls Club of Cape Girardeau Board
• Former commander of American Legion Post 63
• Chairman of Optimist Youth in Government
• Founding member and director of the Samaritan Regional Health clinic Initiative
• Member of the Missouri Farm Bureau
• Church leader