Knopp Retirement Center

Living Up to the Words ‘Hill Country Strong’

By John D. Willome

Good Samaritan Center Executive Director

A friend of my dad’s always encouraged people to remember to celebrate when you experience success.

Friends, while there are still challenges and certain amounts of uncertainty ahead, I think all of us can look back on our community’s response to COVID-19 over the last year and a half and find a lot to celebrate.

In spring 2020, our community experienced a unique stress. It is one thing to have an enemy we can unite against — communists, the Axis Alliance in World War II, al Qaeda, etc. — but this was an invisible enemy, and the strategy called for more defense than offense. We closed everything from local businesses to the NCAA tournament. We quarantined to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our medical system from overloading. Nearly everyone felt the financial ramifications. But here is a list of things I remember from this last year that shows the phrase “Hill Country Strong” was not just lip service: • Tens of thousands of homemade masks were created by locals and distributed to various members of the community, including first responders and hospital staff. • People would gather in their cars in the Hill Country Memorial

Hospital parking lot and sit for 30 minutes with their hazard lights flashing to show support for the providers and staff. • Many did their best to support local businesses by ordering takeout, buying gift cards, or doing their Christmas shopping in May. • Nonprofits like our clinic, The

Good Samaritan Center, the

Hill Country Community Needs

Council, the Golden Hub, and the Fredericksburg Food Pantry experienced extraordinary donations as we continually meet the human needs of the most vulnerable.

• Grocery store personnel worked tirelessly to restock shelves and provide a safe place for us to purchase essential items. • Fredericksburg Independent

School District and other schools rose to the occasion, successfully delivering nearly an entire year of in-person education. That was no small task, and we owe every educator a debt of gratitude. • Our first responders, both law enforcement and medical, helped people when they needed it, regardless of the risk

John Willome