The few, the proud

There have been remarkable No. 1s on the Daily Pilot most influential

list before:

*Amanda Arthur, whose will to live following a terrible car crash

amazed the community.

*Lindsay Davenport, who by strength of a different kind of will

raised herself to the top of women’s tennis.

*Perennially important figures such as the Irvine Co.’s Don Bren

and South Coast Plaza father Henry Segerstrom.

But this year’s men stand out. They are courageous. They are

selfless. To use a shop-worn phrase, they are heroes.

This year, the men who went to fight a war in Iraq are our most

influential.

But the influence in this community does not end with them.

It rests in our mayor and principal offices. It rests in the

backrooms of city halls and the biggest offices of some very big

businesses. It rests on the soccer and football fields that dot our

parks.

And it rests in unusual places.

Where else can a football coach outrank a Congressman? A loser in

a political race wield more influence than the man who defeated him?

A golfer -- albeit an extremely talented one -- have more stroke than

more than 60 other influential folks?

Here, of course.

-- The editors