He seems like the least person to be called “powerful.”

His longish hair always hangs down over his face and he keeps tossing his head to get his hair out of his eyes.

His voice is soft. His speech is hesitant and he’s laid-back to the point of seeming lethargic.

But don’t be fooled. Robert is one powerful guy. I’ve gotten a kick out of watching how this unassuming guy is transforming a neighborhood.

He’s changing it from a street of strangers where no one knew his neighbors to a street of caring people interacting with each other.

At first, during my early conversations with Robert, we just exchanged a few words as I walked by. Gradually, we talked a bit more, agreeing that the neighborhood had changed so much.

For decades, older people owned homes along Robert’s block. Most were in failing health and kept to themselves.

Eventually, one by one, they put their homes up for sale.

Robert can’t get credit for bringing a much younger crowd to the neighborhood. The real estate market that continues to bring in people from all over the country changed the demographics as younger folks brought homes.

Still, it was a street of strangers with little or no interaction of neighbors.

I told Robert about my own neighborhood where we found a way to gather people together in an unintimidating way. Because so many are now “snowbirds” hailing from places around the country we devised a simple party plan.

This is how it works. Each Friday during season we all bring what we want to drink along with a folding chair, setting it under a big oak tree. The chairs are placed in a big circle where residents can easily introduce themselves and meet their neighbors.

It’s a great way to have a party. No one has to do any work, it’s easy to talk with people and when cars drive by and see us there, sometimes they pull over and join us.

When I told Robert about it, he said he needed to find a place on his block where people could gather. Robert recruited another couple and they went all out to plan a neighborhood block party. They got permission from officials to close the street because it’s a dead end without much traffic.

It hasn’t taken place yet and I’m not sure how it will work out. But it already accomplished its purpose: It got people talking.

For his part, Robert went around gathering e-mail addresses so he can keep residents informed.

When one neighbor said she needed someone to water her plants while she was away, Robert volunteered to do it.

When he saw an ambulance pull up at the home of an elderly resident, he went over to help. Informed by the EMT that the 93-year-old woman wasn’t going to make it, Robert and his wife went to the hospital to be with her. “No one should have to die alone,” he said.

When the elderly woman rallied and was sent home, Robert went to see her neighbors, asking each one to provide a meal for the woman. He drew up a schedule so she would have food every day.

The woman was stunned to have such an outpouring from her neighbors. She told me she lived on the street for decades and never had a visit from a neighbor. Now, she is enjoying the comradery when neighbors bring her food and chat a bit.

It’s no longer a street of strangers and Robert deserves much of the credit.

What it showed me was “the power of one.”

We tend to think one person can’t do much to bring about drastic change.

Robert proved otherwise.

He remains at the heart of his neighborhood activity.

My friend Andy also proved “the power of one.”

When he moved into our Rotonda West neighborhood he was excited to put his pontoon boat in the canal behind our homes.

For Christmas, he put lights on the boat and offered free rides to anyone wanting to come along.

He got ridiculed for that. “Doesn’t he know the canal is only a spittoon, not the ocean,” some jeered.

That was more than 10 years ago. Since then, dozens of pontoon owners form a convey and join Andy in offering rides to anyone wanting to join the fun.

A few pontoon owners have moved into the community just for those canal conveys.

Hundreds of people have come on the rides, enjoying seeing the wildlife and discovering the joy of being outside in nature.

For St. Paddy’s Day the lighted boat parade included a bagpiper and Irish songs.

I was on the bank of the river along with more than a thousand people, enjoying the music, singing along and then seeing the lighted boats.

It was fun for all. The thought that ran through my head was that it one man, my friend Andy, that made all this a community event.

It’s the power of one.

We tend to think “we’re only one.” We think one person can’t do much to bring about change.

Sometimes it just takes one.

Much of the good that happens in a community started with one person with the desire to make things better.

Look around in your own community and I bet you’ll find some of the improvements started with the spark of one person’s vision.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.