When we hear the word “hero,” often images of brawny people in spandex and capes soaring through the air to save the world come to mind.

We think of military personnel, firefighters and police officers. We might think of Nobel Prize winners, doctors, athletes or our favorite celebrities.

While these people can absolutely be considered heroes, heroism does not stop there.

Webster defines a hero as “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities.”

I found this definition to be the perfect embodiment of this year’s Horizons theme, “No Place Like Home,” which features folks with exceptional brains, heart and courage. Just as we learned through L. Frank Baum’s famous books and the movie adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz,” good people come in all shapes and sizes.

Oftentimes, people are unaware of their strengths until they are reflected by others. The Wizard showed the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Tinman that they had brains, courage and heart all along, as was made evident along their journey to the Emerald City.

The Lion conquered his fear and showed he had courage by standing up for his friend, Dorothy. The Scarecrow helped solve all sorts of problems, like helping to grease the Tinman’s locked up joints, or donning costumes to get past the guards at the witch’s castle. The Tinman cried when Dorothy had to go home, proving he had the capacity to love all along.

These characters did not know their own strengths until others showed them to them.

Similarly, we want to showcase the efforts of locals who probably would not consider themselves heroes at all.

Again this year, we will showcase “Unsung Heroes” from Niles, Buchanan, Dowagiac, Cassopolis and Edwardsburg, as nominated by the people who know them best: their friends and neighbors.

As you consider who might be a good nominee for this recognition, consider who you would take along on a journey to the Emerald City.

Who has the brains to get things done in a time of need? Who has the courage to conquer challenges for the greater good? Most importantly, who has a heart of gold, always willing to help others?

Unsung heroes are humble civil servants who give simply because they want to help. This could be a volunteer at your church, a friend who helped you through a difficult loss, a leader at a local nonprofit — the possibilities are endless.

If you know someone worthy of this recognition, please nominate him or her by writing a nomination explaining why the person is deserving, and include contact information for the nominee.

You can use one of the nomination forms published in our products and mail it to us at 217 N. Fourth St. in Niles, or email your nomination to ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com.

Help us to show these deserving people how valuable they are, and how much we appreciate their efforts.

Ambrosia Neldon is the general manager at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7700, or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com.