By Terra Avilla
I could write books on the beautiful acts of kindness I witness within our community day in and day out. And if that’s true then I could write an entire series of books on the Growdon family itself, a driving force of kindness and authentically caring souls that are extremely important to this community’s positive growth.
Never have I met such a genuinely good-hearted group of people – from Sheriff Growdon himself to the world’s most polite sons, Neil and Logan Growdon.
This week however, I want to acknowledge the beautiful woman who lovingly supports her two sons and her husband, and is incredible all on her own, and I want to make sure she knows that.
Carol Growdon – I see you. I see all that you do for your family, Lassen College and for the community.
I first met Mrs. Growdon when I was a new officer in town. Carol had just taken a position up at the college helping the gunsmithing program as well as the POST program.
I cannot remember who introduced us, but I remember them telling me that Carol had recently resigned from law enforcement and had worked for Fish and Game, the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office, the Susanville Police Department as well as the Lassen County District Attorney’s Office.
Basically, what they were saying is, “Terra, you will never be as cool as Carol or know as much as she does when it comes to law enforcement” and I am totally okay with that. I don’t think there are very many people who are as cool as Carol, so I don’t lose much sleep over it.
And Carol is cool. Carol is kind, and funny, and sweet and well spoken, and is always composed. How she balances the demands of her career, her home life and still manages to support her husband’s endeavors – I just don’t know how she does it. I don’t do half of the miraculous things she does and definitely don’t have even a fifth of her composure.
What I do know, is that she will always be one of my heroes. Since the day she took time out of her busy day to comfort me when I was having a very rough day as a mother, and as a police officer.
I was serving as the SRO at Lassen High School when Carol came in to drop something off to her son, and I think she could tell I was having a rough day – like the “I don’t want to be a police officer anymore” kind of day. Carol greeted me in the office and through our conversation she told me of several times she felt the same way, coupled with her awesome stories and how everything worked out alright in the end. It made me feel better.
It made me realize that I was not and am not the only female police officer to ever be married and raise children in this career field. She just made it look easy. Even now, when I am having a rough day, I think back to my conversation with her and her stories she told me, and they make me smile and give me encouragement to keep going.
But it’s not just me that she inspires. Carol is an avid runner, does a great job at the college, manages to be a great support system for her husband, and doing this while making it look incredibly easy to be a fantastic mother. How she attends all of her sons’ functions on top of her schedule I will never know.
I know that in all the times I have been around her, she has been funny, thoughtful and kind. I have never heard her say one negative thing about anyone. Ever.
She manages to support so many of our community events, whether it be charitable fundraisers, or our kids’ sporting events. I think the saying is true that ‘nothing shines brighter than a good heart’, and Carol Growdon is definitely one of our shining stars, and one of the reasons I love the place we live.