UNICOI — Earlier this month, 8-year-old Lillian Hopson was passing through the Unicoi Walmart parking lot when she caught something out of the corner of her eye.There, in the bustling business’ most open of areas, was an envelope containing cash. Quite a bit of it — around $350, in fact. Lillian acted quickly, knowing what needed to be done. “I just pointed to it and showed my mamaw,” Lillian said. The two immediately took the envelope to the store’s manager. Lillian said she did so with the hopes that the envelope’s rightful owner would return to the store to claim the lost money.“We were just going to make sure it got back to the right person,” she said. The money’s fate remained unknown until Lillian’s family called the store and spoke with the manager to see if the envelope had been claimed. The manager advised the money had been retrieved.While no reward was offered for the return of the money, the proceeds from a cashed Social Security check, officials with the town of Unicoi wanted to make sure Lillian’s honesty did not go unrecognized. On a day in which the nation honored presidents, among them “Honest” Abraham Lincoln and George “I cannot tell a lie” Washington, town officials presented Lillian with a proclamation to honor her actions. Before reading the proclamation at the start of Monday’s meeting of the Unicoi Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Unicoi Mayor Johnny Lynch said Lillian’s actions set an example for children and grown-ups alike. “While it is easy to say you’re honest, the true meaning of honesty is in your action,” the proclamation said. “Everyone has a conscience, and following your conscience will tell you to do the right thing, no matter what happens. The real reward for your honesty will happen when people say nice things to you, to your family, about your honesty. That kind of feeling, knowing you did something good, is priceless and will stay with you forever.”Along with a copy of the proclamation, Lillian received balloons, flowers and a roll of 20 of the town’s wooden buffalo nickels. After the meeting, Lillian said she did not know the town would be honoring her actions and that the proclamation came as a surprise. “I had no clue they were going to do it, and that just made me proud,” she said. But it was never about a possible reward for Lillian. After all, she said doing the right thing is something that her family has always instilled in her. “It’s important for me,” she said.
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