The Henry County Board of Supervisors recognized several individuals and organizations for dedicated service to the community at a board meeting Tuesday.
Among those honored were Sandra Adams, the Harvest Foundation, Dan River Basin Association, and Mount Olivet Ruritan Club.
The board first recognized the 20th anniversary of the Harvest Foundation, which was formed from the sale of the Memorial Hospital of Martinsville. Since then, the foundation has been a driving force for community improvement in the area.
“Ever since the time of that sale, they have been investing back in our community and giving back to our residents to make this a better place to live, work, grow, educate, and raise a family,” said County Administrator Dale Wagoner.
Kate Keller, Bill Kirby, Sheryl Agee, DeWitt House, Jr. and Latala Hodges represented the Harvest Foundation and received the recognition.
“As our current representative of the Harvest Foundation, we wanted to thank you all for this recognition. This organization has had a pretty fantastic 20 years,” said Keller, president of the organization. “We’ve learned a lot over the years and hope to get better and better at what we do so that we can serve this community in the best way we know how.”
Jim Adams, chairman of the supervisors, also noted the hard work that Harvest puts into improving the community.
“We really appreciate the efforts of each and every one of you. Those of you that think that it’s a 9 to 5 job, it’s more than that. I
see multiple members out at different functions and different areas of the community,” Adams said.
The board also recognized the 20th anniversary of the Dan River Basin Association (DRBA), which aims to improve and maintain the waterways of the region.
Tiffany Haworth, DRBA’s executive director, received the resolution.
“I have been lucky enough to be with DRBA for 12 years now. I was not here at the very beginning when it started. It actually started in North Carolina and a couple of years later came here to Henry County and Martinsville. We could not have done what
we have done in this community without your partnership and without your cooperation and without your support,” Haworth told county officials.
“Equally, this group does not work a 9 to 5 job. If you’ve ever been on a Smith River Clean Up, it’s quite a task pulling everything, you name it, everything out of the river,” Adams said. “No one appreciates clean water more than when you don’t have clean water.”
The board then recognized the 50th anniversary of the Mount Olivet Ruritan Club for its continued support and community service.
Bill McDaniels, club president, accepted the resolution. McDaniels, who joined the club in 1978, said “Thank you for presenting this to us. We’ll continue to try and do the good work that we’ve done.”
Adams, who has served with the Sanville Ruritan Club for 43 years, thanked the club for its support.
“We appreciate their community service efforts. They have definitely made an impact on the community,” he said.
Sandra Adams also was recognized for her years of service with the Board of Zoning Appeals. Sandra Adams has served on that board since Sept. 1, 1989. She retired effective Aug. 31, with a total of 33 years of service. Sandra Adams also is a licensed realtor and owns Adams Grocery in Sanville with her husband.
Lee Clark, director of planning, zoning and inspections, offered some background on her work.
“Sandra came on the Board of Zoning Appeals, the way I say it, before it existed. Zoning only came into effect in Henry County in 1989,” Clark said. “I consider Sandra, easily, the matriarch of that board. The Board of Zoning Appeals is a very unique board. They are appointed by the head Circuit Court Judge and basically their decisions are only answerable back to that” judge, Clark said.
“When zoning was first adopted, not a lot of people in Henry County really liked the idea of people telling them what they could and could not do with their property, but I think over the years they’ve all changed and they know that this is a protection for them and their property,” Sandra Adams said. “This is a great honor. Thank you.”
Jim Adams, who said he has no relation to Sandra Adams, said, “I quote Sandra quite often.
“I was up at the store one day and I said, ‘Sandra, people say that if you run a store, you’ve pretty much got it made, and I need to ask you a question. Do you own the store or does the store own you?’ I hadn’t much more than got it out of my mouth and she said, ‘The store owns you,’” Jim Adams said, adding that she worked tirelessly at the store and still had time to serve on the county board.
“I noticed she worked as a poll worker. I know that she’s also served as our” Parks and Recreation representative from the Blackberry District, and helped with various other projects, he said.
In other matters, the board:
* Appropriated $16,199 for a temporary part-time employee for the Circuit Court – Clerk of Court.
* Appropriated the county’s share of $10,000 to Kemper Consultants for lobbying efforts for the Southern Virginia Connector route. The City of Martinsville and other local organizations have also agreed to pay a share of the total cost.
* Heard concerns from Justin Washer about school safety.
* Approved the minutes of the Aug. 23 meeting.
* Paid the bills.
* Heard the monthly tax report.
Tommy Slaughter, of the Reed Creek District, did not attend the meeting.
