As we report on today’s front page, three Phenix Town Council members will not be returning in January. Berta Childress, Gladys Reid and Bob Turner each received plaques of recognition for their service at their last meeting on Thursday.

We’re sure it was a bittersweet moment.

Childress, Reid and Turner each served on a number of committees, in some cases together. Turner and Reid, for example, both served on the audit and budget, cable television and care/use of municipal building committees. Reid also served on the water committee, while Childress served on the special projects, streets and grounds, and zoning research committees.

That’s a lot of work, if you ask us. And it didn’t stop there. Each of them contributed to overseeing many improvements in Phenix — Christmas decorations and planter boxes, to name a few — and helped to conduct the town’s Christmas parade.

With their departures, three people will take their seats in January. The newcomers are Rachel H. Canada, Claire R. Hancock and Emily Lawhorne. We are sure they will devote themselves to the town just as much as their predecessors.

To Childress, Reid and Turner, we say thank you for their service. To Canada, Hancock and Lawhorne, we thank them as well for stepping up and being willing to serve. Being a civil servant, even an elected one, can be a thankless task. Such service is a noble calling.

It can also be a heavy burden, but one we are grateful these six people have and will take on.