V.J. Smith, an inspirational speaker, and alumni director from the University of South Dakota in Brookings, South Dakota, visited Alliance High School on Friday August 26,, 2011, to share his message of gratefulness. V.J. spoke in a gym packed full of students, about the importance of being thankful and most importantly, saying so. His speech centered on one guy, Marty, and how Marty change V.J.’s life forever.
As the story goes, one day V.J. went to Wal-Mart and happened to go through Marty’s line to checkout. As he stood waiting he could not figure out why there were so many people in that line, while other lines were short or empty, but he soon discovered the reason. The people in line with him were waiting to be checked out by Marty. Marty was a 77 year-old man who greeted everybody with a smile and left them with a receipt, change, a handshake, and a feeling of being cared about for the short time that they stood in front of Marty. Marty shook up to 220 hands a day. According to V.J.’s book, The Richest Man in Town, “No one was a stranger in [Marty’s] line, merely a friend in waiting.”
After witnessing this, V.J. decided to write a letter to the CEO of Wal-Mart and let him know about Marty and his amazing effect on customers. This letter made its way through the chain of command and all the way back to Marty, who later was recognized by the company, in front of all of his coworkers, and was named a hero.
As a result of that letter, Marty wanted to meet V.J. and as luck would have it, one day V.J. came through his line. Marty recognized the name on the check, gave him a hug, and invited him to his house. When V.J. arrived at his address, he realized that Marty lived in a small, simple trailer house. When the door opened, Marty greeted him with a handshake and told V.J. how proud he was of his life. Marty told him that he considered himself a rich man, he had job he loved, a family he loved, and he was married to the most beautiful girl. From that day forward V.J. and Marty became the best of friends. In his presentation, V.J. told Alliance High students that Marty died seven years ago. At this point, many students began crying, and from the sounds of it, they are not alone. Many people have been touched by V.J. and Marty’s story, as proven by the letter, cards, and stories V.J. shared with students. He told AHS audience that he has received hundreds of letters from people all over the country who have heard the story or read the book and been so touched by the message that they felt the need to reach out to him with their own words of thanks. This story touched many people.
The purpose of the presentation was to tell kids that saying “Thank you” and meaning it is important and that being happy does not equal having money. V.J. wrote a book called “The Richest Man in Town” in which he tells Marty’s story. In it he wrote, “People need to decide to be happy. When you are happy, you are the richest man in town.”
Not only does V.J. give speeches, he also carries on Marty’s legacy. He hands out business cards that have “Thanks” printed on them to remind people the importance of being grateful for everything others do for you and every blessing you have in your life. The affect of V.J.’s presentation was very evident. As it ended, many students were crying and grateful for having heard V.J.’s story and having “met” Marty, “The Richest Man in Town. “