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FROM STAFF REPORTS / Editorial 

It’s not hard to be good, it just takes a little effort, and very few showed the effort Dan Acker did in his 84 years on earth.

A fixture in Shelby County, Acker called Alabaster home, but had a heart for everyone in the surrounding communities as well, hoping to make a difference in someone’s life on a daily basis.

That was more than evident by his 24 years of service as a Shelby County Commissioner—a position he ran for to help make a difference.

Sadly, on Friday, July 16, Acker died after battling hemianopia and eventually Alzheimer’s.

His legacy, however, goes beyond the last few years of his life.

It goes all the way back to when he started his professional career as an educator in 1959.

Over the next 62 years, he impacted people in multiple communities as a teacher, principal, coach, city councilmember, father figure and deacon in addition to serving as a commissioner.

A peacekeeper on the commission, he never left a phone call unreturned and worked with other members to make sure the county was receiving as fair of representation as possible.

He worked tirelessly every day to help Shelby County take its next step into the future during an instrumental time, but more importantly, he did so with love and care in his heart, not with any alternative motives.

“I am a man who has been blessed,” Acker said after deciding not to run again in 2016. “For 23 years, I have been a part of a team that has led Shelby County from the brink of bankruptcy to being number one in the State of Alabama in most areas. Shelby County is the envy throughout Alabama and many other states. This did not happen by accident but by careful planning with talented leadership in the right places at the right time.”

Acker was rewarded for all of his hard work on the commission with several accolades.

But more than the awards, what meant the most to him was serving others through his time on the commission as well as his work with the Red Cross, Meals on Wheels, the YMCA and other organizations.

He was a shining example of how to live a life of good by making a difference in the life of others.