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Editorial

Creating a video for some friends at church on how to make biscuits, she didn’t know she was about to become one of the most influential people in the cooking world.

Gantt made the video, helping teach the wives of some husbands at church how to make biscuits, and it went viral on social media thanks to millions of views.

Thus, a star was born.

But Gantt wasn’t your typical star.

She doesn’t try to be something she’s not. The majority of her videos are posted in her home kitchen, the same one she has been in for many years, using her electric stove and many products most of us have right in our own homes.

It is a refreshing take compared to those shows on all the cooking channels that take place in upscale kitchens.

Now, she has more than two million followers on Facebook, while each of her videos gets easily more than 20,000 likes and hundreds of thousands of views if not millions.

Perhaps more impressive than not letting the fame change her style or scenery is what she has decided to capitalize on with her fame—spreading her love of family, her deep-rooted faith in God and raising money for good causes.

Recently, Gantt attended a special event in Columbiana that is near and dear to many people both in Shelby County and beyond—CASA of Shelby County.

The Court Appointed Special Advocates program is designed to help make sure every child in Shelby County has a safe and permanent home to grow up in for their best chance in life.

It is one of many programs or charities that Gantt has helped since gaining fame just more than a year ago.

During her time in Columbiana, she helped raise $33,000 for CASA.

That can make such a huge difference in the lives of so many kids throughout Shelby County, and that is how you handle fame.

Once you start to gain attention and money starts to flow, it is so easy to let that change who you are to fit the public eye the way you think they want to view you.

To have the courage to stay 100-percent yourself, no matter the attention, is a lesson we can all learn from, especially during a time when our lives are lived through social media.

Gantt’s generosity to attend the event not only helped raise money for CASA, but it raised attention for an important cause that may help others want to volunteer for the program or donate themselves.