Strong, civic-minded communities are often defined not by those who hold office, but by those who show up — the men and women who believe deeply enough in their hometown and its residents to speak up for it again and again.

For more than five decades in Wheeling, one of those voices belonged to Charles Ballouz.

Ballouz, who died March 9, was a familiar and unmistakable presence in Wheeling civic life. He never held elected office — though not for lack of trying. Ballouz ran for Wheeling City Council seven times over the years, once coming within a single vote of victory. While public office eluded him, his commitment to public service never did.

And in truth, Ballouz hardly needed a title to make his voice heard.

He was perhaps best known for his frequent appearances before Wheeling City Council, where he spoke passionately on behalf of his neighbors and fellow residents. Whether the issue involved downtown revitalization, water and sewer rates or broader community concerns, Ballouz approached members of council with the same goal: making sure the concerns of ordinary citizens were heard.

He represented a kind of civic engagement that feels increasingly rare. Ballouz believed that local government works best when residents participate — when they ask questions, raise concerns and push their leaders to do better.

His advocacy did not stop inside council chambers. In fact, it began in the pages of this newspaper.

For more than half a century, Ballouz was a prolific writer of letters to the editor that appeared in The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register. Thousands of them appeared in the pages of our local newspapers over the decades. He wrote about the issues of the day, about local concerns, and about the direction and future of the city he loved.

Agree or disagree with his views, one thing was always certain: Charles Ballouz cared deeply about Wheeling.

And he believed something fundamental about democracy — that it works best when everyday citizens take an active role. Ballouz did that also through volunteer service with the First Judicial Circuit Public Defender Corp., the Ohio Valley Regional Transit Authority and other organizations.

Beyond that service, his writings in the newspaper and his attendance at council meetings, Ballouz also was a familiar face throughout the community. Many residents knew him from conversations around downtown Wheeling or from visits to Neely’s Grocery, where he was as likely to be discussing neighborhood issues as he was sharing stories about the city. Ballouz reminded us what it means to be invested in the place we call home.

Wheeling will miss his voice — at City Council meetings, in the letters to the editor and in the everyday conversations that help shape a community. But the example he set should endure: that one citizen, speaking up consistently and passionately, can help keep city leaders in touch with the people they serve.

We’ll end with this: one of Ballouz’s campaign slogans was “You can’t lose with Charlie Ballouz.” How fitting, as Ballouz was Wheeling’s biggest advocate and also its sharpest critic for decades.

That’s a winning formula for civic-minded engagement that should be an example for everyone to follow.