To the Editor:

Volunteers from the Western Tidewater Medical Reserve Corps and employees of the Franklin Public Health Department had the extreme pleasure and privilege of participating in the annual Franklin Fall Fest on Saturday.

This letter illustrates only a small sampling of the positive and rewarding encounters we had with the community.

First, allow me to commend the parents, grandparents and teachers as every child and young adult we encountered said “please” and “thank you” and behaved extremely well.

Please express our sincere appreciation to JJ and Sara (I hope that I am using the correct spelling for Sara).

These two charismatic youth accepted a hula hoop challenge instead of tempting the infamous Wheel of Fortune or Misfortune, then twisted, turned, spun and delighted the crowds as they competed for well over 12 minutes.

I honestly believe that they would still be in the middle of the street spinning, had I not needed to depart for another event.

To the parents of JJ and Sara — keep up the spectacular work; these children are on their way to greatness. I’ll look forward to seeing them next year so the challenge can continue.

I personally applaud and thank every man, woman and child who invested their valuable time to listen to our volunteers as we distributed and discussed poison control contact information, the importance of disaster preparedness and emergency response, pet sheltering requirements, diabetes awareness, disabled, disadvantaged and special needs issues, tick awareness, flu vaccinations, and so many more relevant and timely community health issues and topics.

We are elated and honored, to have participated in such a successful and rewarding community event and look forward to supporting future public health initiatives and other volunteerism response activities within the Franklin community.

This event could not have happened without the proactive support and involvement of many community leaders and partners.

Please ensure that you thank those responsible individuals and groups as they are the ones who truly brought Franklin to life on Saturday.

Jim Steil
Western Tidewater Medical
Reserve Corps Coordinator
Suffolk