By TABITHA EVANS MOORE | Editor-in-Chief
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving across the U.S. and family and friends will gather for good food, together time, and maybe a little football. To me, it’s a day of gratitude for the things that sustain us as a society and a nation – a time to remember that we are not self-made or self-sustained but rather part of an ecosystem of reciprocity. Lynchburg is a village that gives when it can and receives when there is a need.
It’s also a day to celebrate our collective heritage. Whether it’s Aunt Linda’s pecan pie recipe, the after meal pick up football game in the front yard, or putting up the Christmas tree, we all honor where we came from and pass that down to the next generation.
Some say gratitude multiples things. It’s in that spirit that I offer the things I’m thankful for in this place I love – Lynchburg, Tennessee.
1 | Our Community Volunteers – A web of community volunteers sustains Moore County in ways that are felt but often invisible. From our local churches to nonprofits like the Friends of Animals Rescue and the Moore County Resource Center, dozens of folks show up tirelessly week after week to make sure we all enjoy the one thing we need to thrive – a sense of safety.
2 | Our Local Small Businesses – Our independent small businesses, both those around the Lynchburg Square and beyond, add a sense of place you won’t find in any big box retailer. Woodard’s Market opens for half a day on Thanksgiving in case we need just one more thing. The shops along the square spend months selecting unique items for Shop Small Saturday.
3 | Our Farmers – Farming is a way of life in Moore County. Once it was tobacco and dairy farms; now it’s soybean, corn and beef cattle. Farmers protect and honor the land. They don’t get a day off. They get up at dawn and work until dusk doing their part to make the people of our nation can eat – passing down a set of values no classroom can replicate.
4 | Our Local Healthcare Providers – Lynchburg is blessed to have physicians, dentists, and a veterinary team who truly cares. They save lives everyday in ways people often can’t talk about due to privacy concerns. They answer calls after hours, offer reassurance on weekends, and treat their patients like neighbors – because here, they are.
5 | Our Volunteer Fire Department – All of our first responders serve with excellence, but our all-volunteer fire department shows up every single time the tones ring. They witness things that can’t be unseen and hold people in their worst moments – without ever asking what they’ll get in return.
6 | Our First Responders – From the Sheriff’s Department and EMS, Metro Moore County is blessed with compassionate, well-trained individuals who show up in our darkest moments. They still help locals unlock car doors when we’ve accidentally left our keys inside. They boast jaw-dropping response times, and leadership scour sites looking for grants that help things run smoothly without adding to the burden of local taxpayers.
7 | Our Teachers & Administrators – The level of education and training in our local school system is profound. Many could be making twice the money in the private sector but choose instead to shape young minds here at home. They also treat students with respect and encourage them to do whatever they dream of from attending Harvard to founding a college bass fishing team or even building their own small business. Twice in the past week, different people have expressed that we have one of the best school systems in the state and they right.
8 | Our Coaches – From varsity to pee wee, Moore County’s coaches and support staff spend countless hours helping student athletes succeed. From the Raiders’ QB1 to our differently abled athletes, our kids excel because a team of caring, driven adults stands behind them, setting high expectations and offering guidance.
9 | Our Blue Collar and Skilled Trade Professionals – From electricians to plumbers and landscapers, builders, and handymen, Lynchburg is blessed with professional tradespeople who keep us safe and functional. They take pride in their work and don’t quit until the job is done right. They also volunteer their talents to our school sports facilities in ways that don’t receive a lot of kudos but that sustain our student athletes.
10 | Our Utility Workers – From the local DREMC workers and lineman to the MUD officials as well as phone and Internet folks, outages happen to everyone but when they do, they stop everything to get us back to normal life. Long hours, the middle of the night … it doesn’t matter. They spend hours away from their family to keep us comfortable.
11 | Our Elected and Appointed Government Officials – Serving in local government in Lynchburg is not for the faint of heart. They show up with good intentions and best efforts in an arena where someone is always unhappy with their decisions. They take the heat and live in the bullseye, and many do it on a volunteer basis or for a check that doesn’t reflect the hours needed to do the job right.
12 | Our Town Elders – Moore County didn’t just happen. It was built by the sweat and grit of those who came before us. They preserve our oral history, keep us tethered to our roots, and quietly support the generations that follow.
13 | Our Tourist and Tourism Officials – Yes, they may make driving around the Lynchburg Square take more time on the weekends, but they also bring in valuable tax revenue into the county coffers. They love our little town and return again and again. We’re also blessed to have one of the most talented tourism teams in the state, the South Central Tourism Association, right here in Lynchburg supporting our small businesses in ways that don’t always receive the credit they deserve.
14 | The Jack Daniel’s Distillery – Not only is whiskey-making in our DNA, but the distillery also put Lynchburg on the map and helps transform our community into a thriving small town. They are not only one of the biggest property taxpayers but also give back to the community whose name is synonymous with their Tennessee whiskey in a thousand ways both seen and unseen. They also allow hundreds of locals to earn not only a living wage far above the national average. That’s why Moore County sits at seventh per capita in earned income in the state. Their Maintenance Department also quietly makes necessary, and emergency repairs needed at government buildings and our schools that almost no one talks about. Plus, they support their own Fire Brigade that assists our public safety folks anytime they need back up.
15 | Our Citizens – Lynchburg is a special place. We are a tight knit community. Sure, we may argue amongst ourselves like siblings at times but let one of our own experience a tragedy or a scary diagnosis and we rally to support them. Moore County is a place filled with givers and helpers. When SNAP benefits were paused, dozens of organizations rushed in to make sure no family did without this year. And ask any school sports team that play us, and they’ll tell you Raider Nation shows up and shows out whenever our kids need us. “We are MC,” isn’t just a clever social media hashtag, it’s a way of life. Lynchburg thrives because ordinary people choose to show up for one another. That’s the real heart of this community — not the buildings or the history or even the whiskey, but the everyday commitment of neighbors who refuse to let anyone stand alone. This Thanksgiving, may we honor that spirit by carrying it forward into the year ahead. •
About The Lynchburg Times:
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