Alaska Massage Clinic and the ECHO News are teaming up during the months of December, January, and February to give back to some good people doing great things.

We need your help, dear readers, to help us find people that could use a little recognition and a little extra thanks for all they do.

Our December winner is Traci Glidden

Traci Glidden is a good person who does great things. When I met her, she had just received a check for $500.00, and while she wasn’t sure what she had done to deserve it, I’m pretty sure she was already thinking about how to spend it.

She might have been pondering the list of families who would face the Grinch if she didn’t spread Christmas cheer. $500.00 worth of presents for the children, food for the pantry, and stockings filled with care. She’s making sure that many families have something to celebrate this season, and it all comes from Traci, and her husband Mike’s, pocket.

“She would spend it all if I let her,” Mike shares, “her heart is bigger than anything.”

He swears he didn’t nominate her and doesn’t know who did.

Or maybe she was thinking about all the post-holiday sales. She buys hundreds of cards to send to service members who will not make it home for Christmas. She handwrites each one. Last year, she sent out 1,500. This year she only sent 500, she ran out of cards.

She makes and bakes and decorates.

She could have been contemplating what to add to the holiday light and music show she and her husband put together for all to enjoy.

“It’s how we give back to the community,” she says.

Each year they add more. Opening night this year they were joined by the Santa Claus Express and dedicated the show to Firefighter Ben Schultz who suffered a traumatic brain injury this past summer.

Maybe she was thinking about the mailbox in front of her house, where children leave letters destined for the North Pole, and every child who writes to Santa gets a personal response. Making sure that kids get handwritten cards and letters isn’t new to Traci, before her latest endeavor, she wrote cards to hospitalized children.

“I’m a just stay at home housewife,” she claims. I’m not sure anyone else would agree. In addition to all the other things she does, she supports the firefighters her husband works with and babysits when friends are in need.

After hearing about all that Traci does, the nominating committee was sure she was the perfect recipient, “Traci, we just think that it’s wonderful what you do for our community and we want to thank you. We want to encourage you to keep doing what you are doing.”

To the mysterious person who nominated her Traci has this to say, “Thank you for nominating me. I enjoy everything I do. If it wasn’t for the support of my daughter, Kilee, and my husband, Mike, these things wouldn’t get done at all. Thank you for thinking of me.”

Even after humbly explaining everything she does, Traci is still not sure who or why someone would nominate her.

I am pretty sure the rest of us do.

The Glidden’s light show runs until January 1 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings from 6 pm-10 pm.

Their Christmas Eve special will run from 5 pm-Midnight on December 24th. They are located at 18206 Harbor Point Loop in Eagle River. For information on the Glidden’s light show visit: gliddenschristmaslightshow.org

To nominate someone for the month of January or February, visit echoak.com and look for the “Who Makes A Difference” banner.