David Hinson, Jamestown High School graduate and member of the Kansas City Chiefs scouting department, signs autographs on Monday during induction ceremonies at the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame. Submitted photo

LAKEWOOD — Dunkirk High School baseball Coach Frank Jagoda ebulliently stood before more than 400 people in attendance at the Lakewood Rod & Gun Club on Monday evening. As one of 11 members being inducted into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame earlier this week, he was deserving of his moment in the spotlight.

He also understood a bigger picture: his accomplishments were part of a team effort that he was so proud to share with a group of colleagues, players and current coaches who made the trip from “the north county” to attend the banquet. “I am so proud to look at my table tonight and see many are here with me with their continued support,” Jagoda said.

A roar came from the back of the room. His supporters — and others who made the trip from Dunkirk-Fredonia — came out in full force that evening.

For a Chautauqua County that is defined by a historic north-south divide, it seems our best moments happen when we come together and work as one community, not two. Monday’s Hall of Fame induction event was one of those moments.

It was an evening of celebration for what friends and neighbors have achieved. Those who have followed their dreams — that have taken them away from here — still understand the importance and connection to this land.

No one said it better about the special bond — and values — we all share here than Jamestown native Kirsten Green, who currently serves as assistant director of athletics and special projects at Harvard University. “I feel unspeakably fortunate and truly humbled to receive this tremendous honor … from Home,” she said, adding a capital “H” for emphasis.

She learned during her middle school years the inner workings of organized sports. Those experiences later led to positions at powerhouses in Duke, Seton Hall and Michigan.

Though sports have a way of bringing us all together, it also can divide us. Rivalries we revere that play out on the high school football fields and baseball diamonds somehow creep into politics and municipal decisions.

Dunkirk against Fredonia is a contest students and alumni have relished for more than a century. But when it comes to working together as municipal partners, that same border war is evident. Decisions all too often are not made to bring residents of the two entities together. It is to keep them apart.

One of the key reasons the new Brooks-TLC Hospital facility has not yet been built in the village is the longtime animosity between the two communities. Dunkirk’s hard-working image and Fredonia’s white-collar attitude have clashed for years. That attitude to not work together has potentially put a hospital on the brink.

It is not much different in Jamestown. Though Southwestern and the Red Raiders do not compete often in high school athletics, there has been a sense that life is better in Lakewood — or even Falconer — though the city was the key to the development of the outlying areas for so many years when it served as the furniture capital of the nation.

Most unfortunate is the split driven by the nonprofit sector. Foundations in Jamestown are a strength for this region. But not a lot of that funding goes north of Airport Hill.

Those agencies that do so much good in helping those in need — including the United Ways, Community Foundations, Meals on Wheels and Salvation Army — often fight for resources as two, not one. It is based on the location they serve. It is rare to see that type of competition in other counties across the state — or nation.

Some agencies see the value in being a one-county operation. Examples of those include Chautauqua Hospice and Palliative Care, Prevention Works, CBA Vision Rehabilitation — formerly Chautauqua Blind Association — and The Resource Center.

Breaking the longtime division is a tough sell. But it happened with one larger organization in 1999 when a merger produced the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce that focuses on the attractions, events and happenings throughout the region.

Throughout the consolidation, the organization has thoroughly considered what’s best for all of us, not just one region or another. Without this type of cooperation, the amazing effort to bring the Small Business Revolution to Fredonia would not have happened in 2020.

That same goodwill is often displayed at the chamber’s annual banquet in October that recognizes those who help build and volunteer for their community. Residents from across Chautauqua County applaud those triumphs and successes together.

Earlier this week, many did that same thing for the sports inductees. Sure, they came from different locations that included Dunkirk, Jamestown, Southwestern, Fredonia, Clymer, Frewsburg and Sinclairville. But that was just one chapter in relation to their achievements.

What mattered, in the end, to those new Hall of Famers and those in attendance is something we all share that is not divided at global poles or on a compass: We are one Chautauqua County. Period.

John D’Agostino is the editor of The Post-Journal, OBSERVER and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-366-3000, ext. 253.