Congratulations to Danny Essner on Volunteer of the Year recognition

Cape Girardeau's Danny Essner was recognized last month as the Volunteer of the Year by Missouri Main Street Connection Inc., a statewide not-for-profit focused on preservation-based economic development.

If you've been in the area for any length of time, there's a good chance you know Essner, have worked with him on a community project or benefited from his efforts. A retired banker, he's been an active member of this community for many years whether through serving on the city's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, working with Old Town Cape (including as a board member), organizing and promoting events such as the Cape Riverfront Market, Riverfront Fall Festival and other important community celebrations and helping to get some of the local murals cleaned and repainted. He even served on the Cape Girardeau City Council for eight months when the Ward 6 incumbent left office before the end of his term.

"I'm very passionate about the murals," Essner recently told the Southeast Missourian. "That's a major tourist attraction. Anybody that comes to Cape, the one place they always go is to the river, and while they're there, they almost always walk down the sidewalk reading the murals, because it tells the history of Cape."

Essner said he enjoys volunteering. He focuses on things he's passionate about. And he certainly has made a difference.

It's important to have people who are community champions. And Danny Essner certainly is that for Cape Girardeau. Congratulations to Essner on the well-deserved statewide recognition.