FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) — My wife and I moved our family to Franklin from Northern California in the summer of 2017. Just a few minutes after we pulled into the driveway of our new home, each SUV pulling a U-Haul trailer, neighbors approached us to introduce themselves and their families.

It was the most welcoming experience we’ve ever had any time we have moved into a new place.

During those conversations, after telling our new friends where we’re from, without exception they would each ask: “Why would you come to Franklin?”

We still get that question all the time.

The answer is simple: Franklin is just that special. It’s an amazingly beautiful town full of beautiful people. I mean, you just read the first few sentences of this story. Do you think that happens in many other places?

What makes Franklin truly special isn’t its history. It’s not the lovely little valley it’s nestled into. It’s not the architecture of its homes and buildings. All of those things are awesome, but they aren’t what makes Franklin special.

What is it, then?

It’s the people.

I like to describe the people of our area as diamonds in a giant pile of other diamonds.

I’d like to tell you about one of the amazing people in Franklin that has touched my family’s life in a profound way. Her name is Sarah Gilbert. She’s the choir teacher at Franklin High School. But, to us, she so much more than that.

We left a school district in Northern California that didn’t place a high value on the arts. Not as high as other parts of the academy, anyway. There was no choir, nor a band at the high school we left behind. It was my alma mater, by the way. A school I really love. But, the only program that they semi-funded was a small theater program. Our oldest daughter was the only one of our children old enough to participate, and she loved it. It wasn’t a great program, and they never attempted to do anything as challenging as a musical.

When we began registering our three oldest children at Franklin Jr./Sr. High School, we became excited as a family to see all the options when it came to music and theater. Our two daughters jumped right in.

Their teacher? Sarah Gilbert.

It wasn’t long after school started that first year that we began to hear all about Mrs. Gilbert. Our daughter would tell us about some piece of music theory that she’d learned that day, or she’d talk about the song they were working on. But, the best part of it all is that we began to hear our daughters’ harmonizing voices more and more often, and at louder volumes. Some people might find that distracting or mildly annoying. Not us. We were eating it up.

Then came the “extras.” The trips to Erie, Punxsutawney, DuBois, Youngstown, and Clarion to sing and compete in festivals. We watched our girls perform all over the Franklin area as part of the Madrigal Choir. We went to both Franklin and Rocky Grove High Schools to watch them perform in plays and musicals. We watched them on stage as part of the show choir. We stood in the cold at Light Up Night and listened to them sing carols and The Star-Spangled Banner. We waved goodbye, and we watched a busload of students, including our middle daughter, head off to New York City to sing at Carnegie Hall.

In all of this, Mrs. Gilbert was the foundation upon which our daughters built and expanded their love of music. But it doesn’t stop there.

I can’t count the times when my wife and I have gone to see a musical and have seen Mrs. Gilbert playing the piano in the pit. Or, to a choral piece and have seen her in the choir. Beyond being a treasure to our school, she’s a treasure to our community.

I sat down with Sarah this week to ask her about her background and to find out why she became a teacher. I was curious how she gets her students, our children, to perform at the level they do. I hoped to have some terrific quotes to share in this article that might inspire young musicians and aspiring teachers to grow up to be like her.

She said several things that day that fit the bill perfectly, but after reviewing my notes and listening to our conversation again, it dawned on me that what she does in her capacity as a teacher and as a member of our community far outshines anything she said to me that day, no matter how profound or delightful. She’s a do-as-I-say and do-as-I-do kind of person.

She’s a sparkling diamond in a giant pile of other diamonds.

If you know of an unsung (pardon the pun) member of our community that is doing remarkable things, no matter how big or small, and you think they should be featured in an article like this one, drop me a line and tell me all about them.