Touched by his words

It’s not often that a public official opens up about something as personal as discovering he is HIV positive. And it’s rare that he tells a story so powerful that it brings him—and the audience—to tears. Scott Gruendl did both of those things Friday night (Dec. 1), in his last formal speech as mayor, at the World AIDS Day event at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Chico.

A number of people spoke Friday night, so there were many stories of living with or treating HIV. They were all moving, but none quite as much as Gruendl’s.

He’s a man we all know, a man we have trusted with membership on the City Council for four years (plus the next four). And he has AIDS. But rather than seeing it as a death sentence, he chooses to live—and he’s done quite a job, too, fulfilling personal goals, running Glenn County’s Health Services Department and leading the City Council. Our hats are off to him for his courage, strength and commitment to speak out about something that many people keep hidden from the world.

To many of us who have not been personally affected by HIV, the virus is seen as a distant threat—something that “won’t happen to me.” It was heartwarming to hear such a personal account. But beyond the tears and emotion came a message that hits Chico at the core: AIDS isn’t just a problem somewhere far away; it’s right here at home.

World AIDS Day aims to remind us that something needs to be done to stop the spread of the virus. A startling statistic got shared Friday night: One-third of the people infected with HIV pass it on to their partners because they don’t know they have it. So if there’s one thing everyone here can do in the fight, it’s to get tested.