Guest column: A Thanksgiving message

The News Enterprise
November 26, 2009
By BRAD RICHARDSON
Guest Columnist

As I reflect on the many things for which I am thankful, I want to take this opportunity to share just a few of them with you: I'm thankful for special things, like the love of a great family, wonderful old friends, my health and the fact that I've got a job. But this year I'm also thankful for some new and unexpected friends I made during the year, and for what they helped me understand about the place where I grew up.

With the generous help of our many community friends, the One Knox team put together ten community tours, starting in September of last year, for the folks from the Army's Human Resources Command, Accessions Command and Cadet Command. We showed them the good things our region has to offer, to include schools, healthcare facilities, housing developments, shopping areas and more. We took them to lunches, receptions and dinners. They met and talked with business people, educators, community leaders and regular folks. They shared their stories, their hopes for the future and their concerns with having to make the decision about leaving their lives behind to move to an unfamiliar place. They went home with a much better idea about what our region offered, and many of our guests sent e-mails and letters to tell us their thoughts about the Heartland. What follows are a few samples of what they had to say.

One visitor, who came here with his wife, wrote, "I truly did not know what to expect when I boarded the plane as so many rumors about the area made me think that I did not want to go. My wife and I expected to see cows grazing in the front yards, chickens chasing cars and open septic service in the front yards as this is what the rumor mill had generated.

"Instead, we found a truly warm group of people who welcomed us into their homes and had obviously gone thru a lot of work to make us feel welcomed and wanted in the area. The bottom line here is they have sold me on the idea of moving to the area and my wife, who is no easy customer to please, now has a very different view of the area. We will be moving away from our children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and close friends so this was no easy task but we both agreed we have not met this many professionals who have opened their hearts and homes and made us feel this welcomed in a long time, if ever."

I'm not sure about the cows and chickens, but many of our visitors had no idea what they'd be learning when they arrived in Kentucky. Almost universally, they left with positive views, and the thing that impressed them the most was the openness and kindness of our people. They truly felt as if they'd be coming to live in a welcoming area. Many told us that they couldn't wait to come back.

As one guest said, "First (thing) that stood out was the wonderful receptions and kindness of everyone there from the judges, mayors, congressmen/ women, business leaders, musicians, educators, health instructors, swim coaches, hotel staff, service staff everywhere and (One) Knox representatives. Everyone there had energetic pride and excitement about their communities. I was impressed by the kindness and hospitality."

"I especially enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of everyone during the tour, visiting the various points of interest, historic sites, learning about the real estate market and education facilities," wrote another.

Bottom line: This is just a small sample of the great things our visitors had to say about the Heartland.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to live in such a great region, and seeing it through the eyes of our guests makes me doubly grateful that my wife and I had the good sense to move back to Kentucky. I'm proud to be part of such a welcoming community, and thankful for the privilege of living in a place where our most valuable asset is us. And I'm looking forward to next year, when we can all be thankful for having a great bunch of new neighbors to share our Thanksgiving ... with us.

I would like to wish all of you a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday. Enjoy.