(Editor's note: Each year, The Mountaineer honors an individual in the community who has made a difference. This year, Ellen Pitt, MADD representative for Western North Carolina, has earned that honor.)

On any given day in district court, at least one face can always be found sitting in the front row, quietly taking in every motion, jotting down every word dealing with driving while impaired cases.

As MADD representative for Western North Carolina, monitoring DWI court cases is just one aspect of Ellen Pitt’s job that she takes very seriously, and it’s a daunting task.

On a regular basis, Pitt , 61, keeps detailed statistics of hundreds of cases, following them through months and months of court appearances. It’s her way of keeping up with trends and holding police and prosecutors ...