It's intimidating to be asked to speak in your hometown. These people know you ... your family will hear what the 'gossip' is about you after you leave. It's much easier to talk to millions on TV than 400 people from home. Thursday, I was back in Dalton, Georgia -- my hometown. I was asked to come down and give the talk at the Chamber of Commerce "Share the Vision" breakfast. For me, it was a chance to publicly say 'Thank You' to so many people who were an important part of helping shape who I am. I had no idea it was going to turn into Deborah Norville Day! Complete with a key to the city! Wow! The Good Fairy in the Wizard of Oz got it right when she told Dorothy: There's no place like home. Read on ...

Flying down, I kept thinking of how my life is like a quilt -- lots of patches brought together. It's really more of a chenille bedspread, though. Each tuft ...seemingly disconnected ... that together form an interesting pattern. It's an apt analogy for me being from Dalton, cause the tufted textile business was centered there...all thanks to the perfection of the tufted stitch and later the multi-needle tufting machine -- the backbone of the carpet industry and the lifeblood of Dalton.

I talked about scout leaders, my fourth grade teacher, the Jaycees who sponsored the Junior Miss pageant that pointed me toward the TV path. I talked about what it was like growing up in a town where everyone knew who your daddy was... and consequently one behaved as a result. I reminded the audience that my hometown was a place where we celebrated other's achievements and figuratively hugged one another during the disappointments. I tried to publicly thank individuals who, all these years later, I still recognize as having a positive impact on making me the person I have become.

I also shared the message of Thank You Power and how its capacity to enhance one's thinking skills could be useful at this time in Dalton. The mortgage crisis has had a direct impact on the carpet business and times are very tough.

I was delighted by the applause and the standing ovation was gratifying -- especially since my dad and all three of my sisters, the lady who helped run the family office, the mother of my first boyfriend, my dear friend from high school, the man who headed the Jaycee's Junior Miss competition, the man who pointed the spotlight during the show, my scout leader's husband, the lady I used to babysit for, my high school pal's dad, and my backyard neighbor growing up were all there. I didn't expect what happened next!

The Mayor gave me a key to the city! The mayor used to be the boy whose backyard backed up to mine. The County Commissioner named it Deborah Norville Day in Whitfield County and gave me a proclamation! The head of the Chamber gave me a bunch of goodies. He's with the law firm that does the family's law work. And the Spirit of Vision award was given to me by my friend's dad -- himself one of the town's most successful businessmen -- who reminded the audience of how his daughter Susan and I struggled to try to wear contact lenses when we were in high school. She was better at it than I was! Then to top it all off, the Dalton High School Band came and performed all the old fight songs we used to play at football games. I was in the flute section and a flag twirler.

What a day!

What a beautiful reminder that we all come from somewhere and we all have someones -- plural -- who cared about us when we were little and are proud of us when we get big. And what a joy to say Thank YOU to the people who knew me 'way back when' whom I have certainly NOT forgotten now.