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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

There’s a saying that we don’t know the true impact our lives left until after we’re gone.

It’s something that I thought about on Friday, Sept. 6 at Theron Fisher Stadium as Montevallo High School honored the life of Korey Cunningham.

In the days that followed the game, I spoke to multiple people about the kind of person who Cunningham was. They gave nothing but glowing responses.

He was kind-hearted, an outdoorsman and a philanthropist who always remembered his hometown and wanted to give back in ways where he didn’t get the spotlight.

Perhaps most importantly, he was still the same kind of person in the NFL that he was growing up in Montevallo. As a result, people gravitated toward him and remained close, most notably shown by his continued presence at the New York Giants linemen dinner even after he was cut.

His humility continues to make him a person that kids in Montevallo look up to, and with his number now being made into an honor jersey starting next season, those who exhibit his traits will now get to wear his No. 9 on the field.

No one could have imagined that Cunningham would have been taken from this world at the age of 28. Gestures like these are a fitting way to keep his memory alive and carry on his legacy, even for a person who rarely wanted the spotlight on him.

Unfortunately, just a few days after the ceremony, another community in our county suffered a great tragedy. Helena native Tucker Knight, a former football and baseball player at Helena High School, died in an ATV accident, leading to more people sharing his impact on their lives on social media.

Both of their losses remind us about how much we should honor those who’ve made an impact on us, not just once they leave us, but perhaps more importantly, while they’re still here.

Giving community heroes their flowers can not only show the rest of the town a living example of who to emulate, but it can also help those heroes see the true impact of their lives, be encouraged that they are making a difference and be motivated to continue their good works.

However, that doesn’t just include people who achieve great success and make grand gestures of support for the community. The truth is, everyone makes a difference, no matter who you are.

As the mental health awareness movement continues, telling someone “you matter” may seem like a cliché, but there’s a need to say it often because it’s true. Even someone with a seemingly small circle of influence actually has a great impact on the people around them whether they see it or not.

My grandfather had a great influence on me growing up. He was a man who was always kind to others and helped develop my love of sports, particularly through our regular trips to Davidson basketball games.

I knew he meant a lot to others, but I didn’t get to see that in full until after he died in 2019. When I went to Clear Lake, Iowa for the funeral, I discovered other incredible things about him.

As an educational administrator, he left a great impact on many students in a small town that many people wouldn’t know if not for the day the music died.

While he grew up a Chiefs and Vikings fan, we eventually converted him to be a Carolina Panthers fan and he’d request the local sports bar to change a small TV to the Panthers games every week.

We were also in a longtime fantasy football league together and he allowed one of our fellow players to live in his house in North Carolina while he was away in Iowa and had such a profound impact on that man’s life that he flew from out of the country to attend the funeral.

I was never one to hide my love for my grandfather, but I always wish I would’ve known these things growing up so I could see the full scale of his impact. Even though he was a humble man, I believe he would’ve appreciated hearing that as well.

While I hate that our communities still face tragedies like the deaths of Cunningham and Knight, there are two things that I hope we do in light of these losses.

The first is to tell the people around you that you love and appreciate them. It’s something so simple that we often forget to do until it’s too late. Let them know how much you mean to them while they’re still here so they can see how much they mean to others.

The second is for all of us to always remember that what we do here on this earth matters. Let’s make the most of the time that we have in the sphere of influence that we are given and know that whether we see it or not, we are making a difference in someone’s life.