It shouldn’t take a “blue collar” outfit like NASCAR to remind us of the need to appreciate those among us who labor in some of the tougher and lower-profile jobs that greatly benefit our society.

Thanks to officials at an upcoming NASCAR event in North Carolina, two sanitation workers are going to be treated like VIPs. They returned 51 $100 bills folded in a money clip in the pocket of a shirt tossed into the garbage on Dec. 31. The cash was more than two months of combined take-home pay for the two. The shirt belonged to one of the wealthy participants at a racing event.

“We were raised right, and we immediately knew what the right thing to do was and that was to return the money to the proper owner as soon as possible,” said Todd Little, one of the duo. Humpy Wheeler, president and general manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway, was so impressed with the men’s honesty that a reward was quickly established. He arranged for VIP tickets at the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge on May 21 and set up reserved parking and a pre-race pit tour.

“NASCAR is a working man’s sport, and these guys are honest, hard-working people,” Wheeler declared. “They’re the kind of fellow citizens we should be proud of and should appreciate a lot more than we do.”

Amen!

How often do we all take for granted people in so-called blue-collar jobs who work hard and too seldom get the credit and rewards they are due. Think about sanitation workers, for example, who regularly tote off material you don’t want and the members of street crews and power company outfits that help us in so many ways, particularly during the winter months.

At one point late in his career, entertainer Frank Sinatra received a major award for the humanitarian efforts he had expended to benefit others. He humbly accepted, then commented: “This may have my name on it, but it really honors all the good men and women who day after day do important jobs without any fanfare, and too little salary and still find time to help so many others. We never recognize them enough.”

There is dignity and honor in any field where good people perform honestly and effectively and we shouldn’t need an event like the NASCAR reward to remind us of that.