Dear Members of the Tazewell County Chamber of Commerce,
A Greek philosopher has been quoted as saying “change is the only constant in life.” Who in Tazewell County or anywhere in this world would have envisioned, as we began the year 2020, we would be faced with so much change. From social distancing, to quarantine, stay at home, gloves, masks, wash your hands, disinfect and the list goes on. Nothing could have ever prepared us for this change. For me and a 30 year career in Human Resources it is not so much the change that affects us but how we adjust (or handle) the change that defines us.
Life as we knew it would never be the same. I am reminded of events, changes in my own life that have defined me. The death of JFK (our president while I was in high school) the Oklahoma bombing, the Virginia Tech shootings, 9/11, Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion ( UBB was a customer of the company where I was employed), the suicide of my brother in law and lastly the death of my beloved Mother. Now, the COVID-19, a full blown pandemic ( by definition). How will this define me, how will this define all of us ?
It is my feeling we are truly blessed to live in rural Southwest Virginia. We are more spread out which should make social distancing easier. The fact that some citizens still “choose” to go out into large crowds is a subject I “choose” not to address. Rather I choose to focus on the positives.
To date Tazewell County has 4 confirmed cases all of whom were quarantined and recovered at home. My heart truly goes out to them and their families as I have read how cruel people can be. It never once entered my mind who these people were, where they had traveled, where they had shopped or lived. The most important thing we can do for them is pray and show them unconditional love, They are our friends, neighbors, family and most of all they are Tazewell County citizens!
The outpouring of kindness is no stranger to our County. When hardships come we seem to always come together, we persevere and I expect nothing less from the changes this has brought to our lives now. We are All in This Together. Thank you to our Tazewell County Chamber of Commerce, Tazewell County School Administration and personnel making sure our children are fed, our Tazewell County Board of Supervisors, the many food pantries throughout our County, Clinch Valley Community Action , Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens, Labor of Love, Center for Christian Action, our Sheriff's Department, our Town Councils and Police departments, our county and town administration offices, our Fire Departments, our EMS Teams, our colleges, banks, our hometown restaurants feeding our many volunteers, our stores, our physician offices, utilities, hospitals, our Health Department, civic organizations, our many businesses and most of all to our citizens.
You are all the lifeblood of Tazewell County. We will overcome. Lets let this change in our everyday life define us in a truly positive aspect of all we stand for – our freedom to live in the most wonderful country and county on earth !
We will rise above this – Tazewell County – Together !
Sincerely,
Maggie Asbury
Board of Supervisors
