Navy veteran and motivational speaker Anthony Thomas was already well-known as the guy picking up trash in his fluorescent hat, gloves and jacket. The story brought him even more attention, he said. Then, his story appeared in the AJC’s Inspire Atlanta in June. One was a shoutout he received from Dan Cathy, the billionaire CEO of Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, during a community meeting. Thomas told the AJC how he’d been touched by kind words Cathy wrote him for his “unwavering commitment to maintaining the charm of Fayetteville. Read more about Anthony and our Everyday Heroes at the link in our bio. 🖋️:Nancy Badertscher – For the AJC 📷:Phil Skinner for the AJC Editor’s note: We have removed a slide from this carousel that contained an image not related to the story.