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remarkable. There are not enough words for our gratitude, respect and admiration for what you have done.
We carry you in our hearts, minds, and in every breath we take each day. You have given us the greatest gift ever. For me, I can finally breathe, sleep and see a future that I thought that I had lost. For our daughter, she has her Daddy back, and for Scott, he is a new man. He looks good, feels good, has energy and can sleep at night. He is happy to wake up in the morning each day.
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Thank you, to The Virginia Transplant Center, Dr. Mendez, the medical staff at Henrico Doctors Hospital, the post transplant team and the Glenside Dialysis Center.
My sister Karen, who flew from California wearing an N95 mask, goggles and a face shield, quarantining for 10+ days, until a confirmed negative COVID test, just to help and support us in this difficult time, I thank you. Your love and dedication means so much. I love you and I could not have gotten through everything without you.
If anyone is interested in donating a kidney, or if you would like further information about organ donation, please contact the Virginia Transplant Center at 804289-4941. You can also go to https://hcavirginia. com/specialties/kidneytransplant/?location=henricodoctors.
Donating an organ is giving the gift of life; there truly is not a bigger gift in the world.
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Continued from pg. 1 for the challenges.
“Over the last several years pre-COVID, we had seen exorbitant growth in our small business community. We have a blue collar mentality here in Hanover and that has served us well and to some degree has helped to keep us insulated through the pandemic,” Thomas said.
Even with the positive signs, there are lasting effects on travel and leisure industries that are slowly recovering from the downturn. “That doesn’t mean certain industry sectors are still not struggling and we recognize that.”
Thomas said shopping local not only benefits local businesses, it returns dollars to the local economy.
“For every dollar spent at a local business on average, 64 cents of that comes back to the community through both direct and indirect investment. We call that trickle-down economics and it is very powerful,” Thomas said.
Those dividends are far reaching, according to Thomas. “Not only do those dollars go to support the businesses themselves but also equally important is the services those taxes help provide for our schools, sheriff’s department, fire and EMS along with social services.”
Thomas’ department didn’t close the doors during the pandemic, seeking any way possible to assist local businesses to overcome the obstacles associated with COVID.
“During the pandemic our department, in conjunction with strong support from the Hanover County Board of Supervisors, moved quickly to develop a resiliency grant program that was able to help close to 70 small businesses hardest hit by the epidemic,” he said.
In addition to assisting connections with interested potential employees, the office was involved in hands-on efforts to help.
“We also partnered with the Town of Ashland and the Hanover Chamber of Commerce to distribute more than 250 PPE kits to our existing businesses,” Thomas said.
And Thomas said those efforts to assist are ongoing.
“All these efforts were well received but the work doesn’t stop there,” he said. “As we come out of the pandemic we are once again looking for new ways to help our business community.”
One of those ways to encourage residents to shop local was developing an interactive marketing initiative that would introduce the public to a diverse and vibrant small business community.
“Shop local campaigns in general are not something new to Hanover, but we wanted to devel-
op an interactive marketing blitz that would be fun and reflect the diversity of our business community,” the director said. “Our department developed a video to highlight close to 20 small businesses in Hanover County and the Town of Ashland.”
The campaign is designed to better acquaint locals with the businesses in their communities and the importance of shopping local.
“We want to tell the story of why it is important to spend your tax dollars locally and how that comes back to our community,” he said.
The campaign includes a variety of methods for local businesses to interact with their customers.
“We have developed
Hanover County Economic Development Director marketing materials which include window clings and posters that can be customized along with the video on our website at hanovervirginia.com,” he added.
A major component of the campaign is public feedback, and the efforts are allowing residents an opportunity to list their favorite small businesses.
“Over the next three weeks we will be encouraging people to post pictures of their favorite local establishments and watering holes while tagging at least three of their friends on our Facebook page with the hashtag #HereInHanoverVA to register for our giveaways which will also come from local businesses,” Thomas said.
Thomas said the efforts are clearly defined with identified goals. “The first goal would be to help educate people on the importance and impact they have on our community when they spend their hard earned paycheck locally,” he said. “The second is to help drive traffic to our small businesses which are the ones who have been most affected over the last year.”
Thomas is hoping the public will embrace the shop local campaign, and said his office is ready to help in any way possible. “We cannot do this on our own! We ask the community to get involved, have some fun and go out and shop local!”
Businesses seeking additional marketing materials should contact existing business manager Jessica Hartness at Hanover County Economic Development, 804-365-6464.
Thomas said the current shop local campaign is a team effort made possible by the hard work of many. “These initiatives are not possible without a tremendous amount of team work and I want to personally thank the Board of Supervisors, Town of Ashland, Hanover County Chamber of Commerce, the small business community and our citizens for their support.”
