Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, I had the chance to get to know many people whose commitment to community was practiced with great energy and dedication on a daily basis. This past August Cleveland lost two of those great leaders: Councilwoman Fannie Lewis and Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

I can’t remember when I did not know Fannie Lewis. She was my Sunday school teacher when I was a young child. Back then I did not know her as the tough councilwoman who represented the Hough neighborhood. To me she was a gentle giant.

Later I came to know and respect her as a fierce champion for her district and the city. She spared no one when it came to her convictions. Several years ago I held a reception at a venue in her ward, a venue that she did not support. She telephoned not only to congratulate me, but also to inform me why she would not be attending the reception. At first I couldn’t believe that she wasn’t going to be there, but that was Fannie—if she felt strongly about an issue, you knew it. She was a truly great public servant.

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones was indeed a woman of great substance. She was a friend of American Legacy magazine and its mission. Stephanie achieved multiple firsts as an African-American woman. She was the first to be elected to the U.S. Congress from the state of Ohio, the first to serve as chairwoman of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, and the first to serve on the House Committee of Ways and Means. Prior to being elected to Congress, Tubbs Jones was a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge and County Prosecutor.

In April 2008 Stephanie was in New York City for several meetings and called to inform me that she was stopping by my office for a visit. I can recall her striding in dressed in a red suit, full of energy, distributing Hillary Clinton buttons to the women on our staff. That was Stephanie. She served not only her Cleveland community but also our entire country. Her commitment and service will be greatly missed, but her legacy lives on.

I am often reminded that you don’t have to be a prominent politician or businessperson to have an impact on someone else’s life. In September my Aunt Dorothy passed away in Indianapolis. During the service I listened while one young woman, whom my aunt had cared for as a child, spoke of the important role she had played in her life and what she meant to the entire family. This young black woman spoke of my aunt in a way that made me feel as proud of her as ever.

Aunt Dorothy, too, made an impact, serving her church and others, and she will be greatly missed. We all have the ability to make a positive impact on the lives of others. However large or small your influence, the end result is the same: Someone might benefit from a relationship with you.

RODNEY J. REYNOLDS, Publisher