Sumter Mayor Sends Greetings:
I want to say, first, that we, at the City of Sumter, are thrilled that the Base Realignment and Closure committee saw fit to allow Shaw Air Force Base and the Sumter community to continue playing a key role in the future of our armed forces. Shaw has been a source of local pride since 1941. The BRAC realignment assures Shaw's future for many years to come.
So many Sumterites contributed in so many important ways to the effort to show why Shaw should continue to operate and grow. We really did not have a hard time getting folks to contribute time and money to the effort. And although we all realize the economic importance of Shaw to our area, the commitment of Sumterites goes much deeper. We are patriotic folks, who love our country and the people who fight for our country. When we help out the family of a warrior who is deployed, we feel we are helping our military accomplish its mission. We are proud to play a role in the defense of our country.
Without the efforts of our entire community, we would not be celebrating with our Air Force friends and looking forward to the arrival of our new Army friends. Yet even in this time of thankful anticipation of great things to come, we in Sumter must accept the responsibility for making Sumter the very best that it can be. That means that the hard work and diligence cannot stop. Maintaining excellence is a never-ending commitment.
I want our Army friends who may be assigned to Shaw to know that all of Sumter is so excited about your coming. I extend a personal invitation to you and your family to find a place here that you can call home. I guarantee that this great community appreciates the contributions of our armed forces and will greet you with open arms. Even before this publication, we put in writing on billboards for all to see "Shaw/Sumter--Partnership for Progress" and it is with great conviction that we prove that to be a true statement everyday.
As a Sumter native and veteran who served at Shaw, I understand the perspective from both inside and outside the gates at Shaw. And I am not alone in that view. Helping make our community what it is today are about 6,000 retired military men and women. Many of these retirees served at Shaw as their last assignment. But many also fell in love with Sumter and returned here after their careers ended. As one retiree told me, "Life in Sumter is the way it ought to be everywhere!" I believe he meant that we combine a small town atmosphere with dynamic, diverse and progressive drive to improve.
We in Sumter take it as the ultimate compliment that, of all the communities in this great country, people choose our corner of the world to live, raise families, and generally cast their fortunes. I think you can tell by what I've written here that I believe in Sumter--its people and its future. Our City is proudly named after General Thomas Sumter, the "Fighting Gamecock" of the American Revolution. And it is with great pride that I serve as its mayor and welcome you to our community!
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Joseph T. McElveen, Jr.
Mayor
City of Sumter |
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