PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW

People You Should Know: Clarksville-Montgomery County Essential Workers

Clarksville, Montgomery County public servants, and essential workers are resourceful, work tirelessly, and constantly strive to make our already beautiful home better every day. As Fourth Quarter comes to a close, the CBJ publishing team decided these are truly the ‘People You Should Know’ this quarter.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, spirits have remained high, and both adaptability and flexibility have made this a banner year for morale. Take, for example, Clarksville Parks and Recreation who found a way to continue the Downtown Market, and was sure to implement COVID precautions every week. Ryan Bowie, executive director of the Roxy Regional Theatre, curated a fantastic lineup of shows and events, and partnered with ServePro of Montgomery County to ensure facilities were clean and prepared to welcome guests. Events like River Fest and Christmas on the Cumberland happened without a hitch thanks to the concerted efforts of all partner organizations.

We have entered into the virtual era with flair, and cornerstone to our successes has been our leadership. In an exceptionally noteworthy, socially distanced event, our region celebrated the Multipurpose Event Center Groundbreaking.

City of Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts and Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett have tackled the pandemic head-on, and moving forward as a unified front have made sure to keep public statements and legislation consistent. From orchestrating the virtual reading of stories to children to daily addresses, our community has stayed well informed, and united in or efforts to navigate through the pandemic.

Our police, sheriff and fire departments have not skipped a beat. Staff at our hospitals, grocery stores, essential public utilities, and so many others have looked into the face of the unknown, unflinchingly.

The ‘People You Should Know’ are the ones who kept us all afloat. There is not a playbook on beating a pandemic, everyone was struggling personally and professionally on one level or another. Yet, our essential workers, our public servants, and our hometown heroes fearlessly led the way.