Chances are if you take a peek inside Kathryn Meadows’ car trunk, you will find bins full of games, clothes, and food – none of which is hers.

The bins are a window into what keeps this retired educator busy these days.

On a recent Monday, those bins were full in her trunk as she and her longtime friend, Darlene Eustace, stocked some blessing boxes in Hickory Tavern with pasta, soup, peanut butter and cans of tuna.

“There are some folks who run short some months,” Ms. Meadows said. “Hopefully, these boxes fill that need.”

When she’s not filling community food boxes, Ms. Meadows works at the Stewart Farms in Enroee, helps parents and children in the First Steps program and serves neighbors and strangers alike whenever a need arises.

It’s that volunteer spirit that earned her the City of Laurens’ Servant Leader of the Year Award in April.

Laurens County Sheriff’s Deputy Courtney Snow nominated Ms. Meadows for the award because of her quiet dedication to helping people in need. In November and December, she’s among the team of people who make the Sheriff’s Christmas for Kids program possible. In February, she was among a small group of people who counted the county’s homeless population for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

And she’s always serving in other small ways, Snow said.

In Ms. Meadows’ work with First Steps in Laurens, she goes beyond her normal work schedule to help mothers and their children.

Sometimes that means taking someone to the doctor.

Or gathering furniture together for a family moving into a new apartment.

“What sets Kathryn apart is her willingness to go the extra mile,” Snow said. “She understands that true service does not operate on a schedule. These acts are not done for attention; they are done because Kathryn believes every person deserves dignity, compassion, and hope.”

It’s no surprise that Ms. Meadows spent nearly three decades as a teacher’s assistant for the special needs students at Laurens Elementary School.

“I gravitated to the kids who had a harder time than other kids,” Ms. Meadows said.

Originally born in Maryland, Ms. Meadows spent much of her childhood on a 40-acre farm on the banks of the Enroee River. Her dad was from Columbia, Tenn., and her mother was from Watts Mill. The couple met while they worked in Washington, D.C. But when Ms. Meadows was 10 years old, her family moved to Laurens County to be closer to her mother’s family.

When asked why she received the Servant Leader award, Ms. Meadows just laughed.

“I don’t know to be honest,” Ms. Meadows said.

What she would admit was two things: it doesn’t take a big bank account to serve others, and she would credit her desire to help to her grandfather, Larry Weeks, and a dear friend, Thomas “Skip” Campbell.

Her grandfather was one of the founders of Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in the Watts Mill neighborhood. What Ms. Meadows remembers is hearing about how her grandfather would write letters to those in prison and give money to help children at Thornwell Home for Children.

“He was a quiet helper,” Ms. Meadows said. “I learned about helping others from him. But I don’t do anything alone. I always have helpers.”

Truth be told, this volunteer business takes a team, Ms. Meadows said.

Ms. Meadows said she and Campbell, who died earlier this year, knew each other as part of the same church family – Lanford Baptist Church. He was one of those kind-hearted people she had on speed dial. Now, one of those blessing food boxes now sits out front Lanford Baptist Church in Mr. Campbell’s honor.  

“Skip was always someone who I could call,” Ms. Meadows said. “He’d always say, ‘Where do you want me to be? What time?”

Funny thing is others would say the same about Ms. Meadows. She’s on others’ “to call” list.

“She is kind, and she meets people exactly where they are,” Snow said. “For many, she has become a trusted outlet. In a world that often moves too fast, Kathryn slows down long enough to remind people that they matter.”