I knew the look in her eye. I have seen it a lot in recent years as I found myself more involved in community events.

The look told me that the brain was saying, “I know I can do this, but I have so many other things to do, but I really know I can handle this, but I also like to relax once in a while, but if I don’t do it, there’s a chance no one else will step up.”

I won’t say who I’m describing because, in reality, I saw the look in a lot of people’s eyes earlier this week when a bunch of people got together to discuss planning for this year’s Hanover Halloween parade. Don’t let the pronoun confuse you – men and women alike got this look in their eyes, including me.

In the end, we managed to divvy up a bunch of tasks and generate a lot of enthusiasm to keep one of the area’s best traditions going and, hopefully, avoid the rush we find ourselves in right now.

I feel bad for the Jaycees, who officially manage the parade. Once you get involved in anything these days, you quickly realize that only a few people end up doing the work. We could get into the cultural reasons why, but that would just soak up valuable time we could use to actually solve problems.

The good news is that I think the parade is in good hands for now. I’ll do my little bit, others will do even larger bits of work and everyone will have a great time on Halloween. Yeah, the parade is on Halloween this year so that will be cool.

I never doubted that help would keep the event alive. Even though I know that groups like the Jaycees and many others in the area suffer from the same shrinking volunteer base, I also know that many from other groups would step up. I also knew some would do it not because they belonged to a group that felt like they needed to help, but just because they cared.

That’s how parades end up running smoothly. And chicken barbecues. And the many other events that so many people consider an important part of living in a small town.

But just because we left the meeting excited and focused does not mean that the work has ended. Keep an eye out (especially if you are on Facebook) for news on future meetings. Consider finding your own way of taking part in the planning or execution of the parade even if you just want to donate money to help support the prizes.

If you can’t, try and find something else where you can pitch in because some of the people around that table are adding this event to other volunteer efforts. Join a service club or see if a big event needs another set of hands. You will be amazed at the things you will learn and the fun you will have.