Our children’s champion is called home

Rick Pridgen didn’t serve on the Wayne County School Board for show or notoriety.

And if you knew him, you understood that he didn’t do it to get rich, enjoy perks or dangle his power over people’s heads.

He was about the kids — his own and everyone else’s.

It was just that simple.

The longest tenured member of the school board, Pridgen had served this community for more than 18 years before he slipped away in a room at Kitty Askins Friday morning.

Read that again.

Eighteen years — of board meetings, parent phone calls, superintendents’ reports, tough votes, long planning meetings, campaigns and making decisions about what was best for the county’s schools and its children’s futures.

The man, driven by his faith, simply wanted to make lives better.

And he did.

His loss leaves a void, an end to nearly two decades of service.

And with that service came the comments, the criticisms and the judgments. It goes along with the title.

But he stood his ground when it was hard — refusing to set aside his convictions when, on occasion, it probably would have been easier to maintain the status quo.

And that, more than anything else, is what made Rick special.

He was authentic — and himself.

Agree with him or not, he made the choices that were in his heart.

What an incredible example for an education icon to set for future generations.

As hard as our loss is to bear, we know that it is even harder for his family — particularly, his wife Allison, with whom he shared a passion for posturing children for success.

We know she and the rest of Rick’s family will miss him.

They’ll miss the husband, father and grandfather.

They’ll miss the Boy Scout and the singer.

But they should know that their patriarch made a mark — that he left a legacy and an example of what community service really means.

He believed that one voice could make a difference — that there was nothing more important than preparing young people for the world and enriching their lives.

He was a champion for the arts and for helping the most at-risk among us.

No matter which side of the aisle you are on, you have to appreciate that.

Just think about the number of times Rick was at school functions, government meetings and community events during his 18 years on the board. Think about the many nights he sacrificed with his own family to be there for all of ours.

And you certainly can’t put 18 years of service into context without noting that the vast majority of current WCPS students are 18 years old or younger — meaning that Pridgen quite literally had at least some impact on every single student currently attending school here.

Now add every graduating class since 2002.

The numbers are staggering.

That is an impact. That is a legacy.

On Jan. 26, the world reeled at the news that we had lost basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi. We were stunned, and we thought about how much of an impact he left, and how short life is.

Now, we have lost a hero of our own.

And it reminds us that you don’t have to be an NBA scoring champion or a sports Hall-of-Famer to leave a legacy.

Who shows up to sing at the tribute to your life is not a true measure of how much your life was worth.

It’s the lives you touch — and more importantly, the way you carried yourself as you touched them — that will define you.

And in that respect, Rick Pridgen was our children’s champion, and someone for the rest of us to emulate.

We can honor his service by continuing his legacy.

We have no doubt his children — the thousands of them who might never have known his name but felt his impact — will help make that mark.

The county’s champion of education taught them well about the difference you can make when it isn’t about you.

Not a bad final lesson from a man who believed so strongly in the power of knowledge.

Rest in peace, Rick.

No appointee will ever be able to fill your enormous shoes.