People in our community – Making a difference: Spotlight on Alma Back

On any given Sunday, Alma Back can be found making announcements in front of the congregation in Munith United Methodist Church. The latest was the “toilet paper challenge.”

By Cindy Lance

On any given Sunday, Alma Back can be found making announcements in front of the congregation in Munith United Methodist Church. The latest was the “toilet paper challenge.” At least once each year, Back makes a competition out of toilet paper collection for Stockbridge Outreach.

Members of the church draw a small piece of paper with either a smiley face or a star, the kids make posters for each side of aisle to identify the collection sites, and the race is on.

Back announces that there is a twist this time. “We are collecting toilet paper until we hit 2,400 rolls!” she said.

Several times each year, Back also organizes collections of items in support of Stockbridge Outreach’s “Tide Me Over” program that provides 100 backpacks of food to kids each week. Outreach is not the only organization that Back tirelessly supports.

Over the years, she has volunteered in 4-H cake decorating and been a den mother for Boy Scouts. She also served many roles at Munith United Methodist Church, which she started attending as a 4 year old.

This spunky volunteer with a giving heart is a lifelong resident of Stockbridge, and graduated from Stockbridge High School in 1956.

“When I was younger, there used to be a theater in the Town Hall,” she said. “We would go there every Saturday for a show, and then we could walk across the street to Stanfield’s grocery for a 5 cent bottle of root beer.”

Back met her husband, Al, on a blind date. They wed in 1958 and were married for 56 years before he died. They have two sons and three grandchildren.

Back’s focus throughout her life has been outreach, love and service. When there is a need, she is there with a helping hand, a meal or companionship. She does this not for praise or recognition, but simply because it is part of her nature.

“Always try to be honest with everyone, work hard toward your goals, and always, always help others,” she said. “There is always someone in need.”

This giving spirit can be contagious, as members of the Munith congregation well know. Inside the church on the “Smiley Side,” the pile of donated toilet tissue rises so high the pastor is almost hidden from view.