Brad Thomas has served and protected families in the community as a firefighter for nearly 30 years. From a very young age, Brad followed his father around the firehouse, and it was during this time he decided he wanted to become a fireman himself. Initially, Brad’s motivation for his career was to have fun and the adrenaline rush and excitement of being able to put his skills into action.
Through the years, his motivation has definitely changed. He now thinks of the bigger picture, and often asks himself, “Why did God choose me to be there to help?” Brad says, “The best part of the job is when you know that someone has been praying or begging for help and you can be part of the answer to their problem.” One challenging part about being a firefighter is being away from home. Home is definitely where Brad’s heart is.
He and his wife have been married for 20 years! They have two daughters and two sons….the youngest joined their family through the blessing of adoption just last year. Brad decided a few years ago to share daily posts to help other couples and parents through the struggles of marriage and parenthood. He wanted people to know that they were not alone! He counsels others to put God first in their lives and in their marriages and that couples should not keep score. (You can read his devotions on Facebook @PurposefulLiving.)
In November of 2015, Brad was presented with the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Africa to construct places of worship and shelter from heat and rain. He recalls thinking, “Why should I go on a foreign mission when I have enough to do here?” Upon further reflection, he realized that he wasn’t doing that much here and decided to go.
This was the beginning of what have been five mission trips to Africa. You can definitely feel the love that he has for the people in Africa, especially the sweet children! Brad says, “God lines things up for a reason, and you have to be willing to be obedient and take a leap of faith!” Brad spends his free time working with Iron Men Ministry, volunteering as a baseball coach, serving at the firehouse and building homes with Habitat for Humanity of Caroline. Brad’s motivation can be summed up by his favorite verse found in ACTS 20:24 NLT; “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned by the Lord Jesus — the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Brad says, “As soon as I turned things over to God, that’s when I noticed my life-changing.”Thank you Brad Thomas for being a local hero, a wonderful example and for all you do to Lift Up and Serve Our Community!
We also thank the anonymous members of our awesome community who nominated Brad. Do you know someone or an organization that lifts up our community and is deserving of our monthly Spotlight? If so, please reach out to kiley@mattbrandtinsurance.com or give us a call at 804-633-4242. We look forward to hearing from you!#liftupyourcommunity
WE ARE EXCITED TO SHARE OUR MARCH SPOTLIGHT…. SARAH ADAMSON-MAIR Mother, Teacher, Volunteer, Healthcare Worker“
Choose Happy”… This sign sits in Sarah Adamson-Mair’s living room and sums her up in two simple words. Sarah was nominated by multiple people in the community, and after visiting with her it is so easy to see why.It was hard for Sarah to agree to be spotlighted. As she sees it, she is one of many individuals who lift people up, spread goodwill and love to those in our awesome community.Sarah has lived in Ladysmith for the past 7 years. When interviewing and asking her what is most important in her life we found out real quick that she loves her kids.
So that’s where we’ll start…Sarah is a super proud mom to three amazing children. Her oldest son is working on his residency in psychiatry at Walter Reed, afterwards, he plans to complete a fellowship in child psychiatry. He decided to go into child psychiatry in part because of his mom’s example and love for children and the great need there is for child psychiatrists. Her middle son is at Johns Hopkins completing his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering.
Recently he has been studying the effects of COVID on the heart. Her youngest daughter is studying at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She is working on her Ph.D. in Genetics and has been working on some studies on Malaria. Her children worked REALLY hard to do well in school, although at times it came with some tough love from their mom. Sarah says, “Parenthood is never without struggles!” One time Sarah had to call the resource officer to get her son out of bed to go to school. The resource officer took him to school! The resource officer was very supportive, and not only took him to school but also made a connection with him that lasted the rest of his school years.
Needless to say that only had to happen once! Although Sarah is proud of her children’s scholastic accomplishments her greatest joy is that her children are happy strong individuals. She is so happy that they are doing what they love, and she helped them get there! Sarah started her career in the medical field as an admitting office supervisor at a hospital, later she became a child care provider, and worked in medical offices to help people with their healthcare needs. After several years she decided to switch careers! Sarah had loved to volunteer in her children’s classes at school and it was during this time that Sarah decided to become a teacher. Her kids helped her along the way, even quizzing her for tests!
When the time came to sit for her state boards, the kids took turns testing her knowledge to make sure she would pass, and she did! Sarah is a beloved teacher at Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Ruther Glen, Virginia. She loves encouraging her students to reach their potential. We have heard from many parents in our community how much of an impact she has made on their child.
During her time at Lewis and Clark she has taught several grade levels, led after-school development programs and volunteered in many capacities to help students learn and grow to become the best they can be. Sarah volunteers regularly during her personal time after hours tutoring students who need extra help. One student she tutors would earn bike rides with Sarah as an incentive for reading. Another student she had years ago would play football with her at recess (Sarah throws a mean spiral), and has even promised her a pink jeep if he ever becomes a professional football player.
Sarah has helped many kids develop and prepare themselves for the future. In 2018 Sarah was recognized as Teacher of the Year in Caroline County and Teacher of the Year for the Region! When you ask her what her greatest accomplishment is, being teacher of the year isn’t at the top of the list. Being a mother is #1, followed by a close second is her care and development of her students. The love she has for her students both past and present was radiating from her as we conducted our interview.
When she isn’t teaching, being a mom, or volunteering she works in the medical field as a scheduler for the Radiology department at Mary Washington Hospital in the evenings and on weekends. She has been graciously working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Things have not always been easy for Sarah. But she wouldn’t be the person she is today without overcoming the challenges she faced. Sarah grew up in foster care. She didn’t always realize it at the time, but there were many special teachers and others who stepped into her life at the right moment…she calls them Angels.
One such person was her 5th-grade teacher Mr. David Hyde. Mr. Hyde would pay Sarah for pictures she would draw for him. It wasn’t until 7th grade that Sarah learned that she was NOT a great artist, Mr. Hyde only bought her art so she could have lunch money. It is because of people like him, that Sarah has a great desire to pay it forward. Mr. Hyde was one of many who lifted Sarah and inspired her to give back. Sarah lives each day truly striving to give back to others! If you look for Sarah you can find her reading with a student, reaching out to the one who just needs a little extra love and attention, riding bikes, or working on her amazing spiral….and who knows maybe one day you will see her driving around in her pink jeep
Thank you Sarah Adamson-Mair for your wonderful example and all you do to Lift Up Our Community! We also thank the anonymous members of the community who nominated Sarah. If there is someone in the community you would like to nominate to be our next spotlight, please reach out to kiley@mattbrandtinsurance.com or give us a call at (804) 633-4242. We look forward to hearing from you!#liftupyourcommunity
Update on Emmet – Class A Contractor and/or Donations Needed:
Our community is awesome! Since sharing the below post last month we had a company reach out volunteering to head up this project. They visited the home to assess the situation and found that a significant amount of work was needed in the house. Demolition, water restoration, re-piping and reconstruction are needed. This company volunteered to do all the water restoration and demo for the project. They reached out to a plumber who volunteered to re-pipe the house. We are now seeking a Class A Contractor that can assist in this project.
We are also humbly asking for anyone that would like to donate to this project to visit www.liftupyourcommunity.com (Lift Up Your Community is a non-profit organization separate from Matt Brandt – State Farm Agency). If you would like to contribute to this project or for more specific details/questions please reach out to us privately. We appreciate the generosity of the above companies in sharing their time, talents and resources (we will share more details when we finish the project) and all the wonderful members of our community who are doing so much good. If you become aware of someone in need please let us know so we can coordinate relief as a community. Also, please share individuals that are worthy of our monthly spotlight as well as volunteer opportunities. #liftupyourcommunity
WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OUR SPOTLIGHT FOR FEBRUARY!!!!! MR. DOC WILCOX
When I spoke with Doc about the possibility of Spotlighting him he was humbled and honored. I know that Doc inspired me, and hope he inspires you too! Doc has lived in Lake Land’or for the past 11+ years.
He has been married to his beautiful wife for 22 years. They have 2 daughters and 4 wonderful grandchildren. Not only does Doc work 2 jobs, but he also finds time to lift up others while making his community beautiful. You see practically every morning Doc starts his day before the crack of dawn.
This started years ago when he would take his dog, Zeke, for a walk he would notice a little trash here and there. Doc thought someone should do something about it, and so he did! He started to carry a trash bag with him to pick up the stray pieces of trash. Everyday Doc weighs the trash he collects and on average it’s about 26 lbs a day!!!
In 2020 Doc picked up 4.2 TONS of trash, and walked 3,200 miles doing so, he even picked up a wicker sofa! Doc says, “there are other people out there, I’m not the only one.” He walks with his trusty sidekick Bindi,, a 1 ½-year-old Australian Shepherd. The pair walk approximately 7 miles a day picking up trash in Lake Land’or and on Ladysmith road from Rt.1 to County Line Baptist Church.
While walking and picking up trash Doc also takes between 20-70 beautiful pictures of nature, the sunrise, and anything else that catches his eye and shares them with those in his community for no other reason but to brighten their day. Doc says, “the more you reach out, the more people reach back.” Doc has seen this with people that pass him while he is collecting trash. He said that people slow down and move over on the road to make room for him, so he started waving and making eye contact with them and they have returned the kindness.
Those waves have created smiles and friendships. Even the law enforcement will flash their lights, or hit their sirens to say hello. Doc says, “as a community, we are interacting in a positive way.” Coretta Scott King said, ”The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” Doc believes that his kindness has helped friendships develop, and creates a wonderful feeling of community, a great place to be!
Last year during the pandemic Doc noticed an increase of litter on the sides of the road. He attributes that to people eating more in their cars because restaurant dining areas are closed. He said that it’s easy when you see one McDonald’s cup on the side of the road to think that it’s ok to toss your cup out to join it.
Doc says that sometimes debris on the roadside is an indication of debris on the inside, 2020 was a difficult year, people are hurting and times are tough. “When you inspire people and put a smile on their face, it helps their day,” I asked Doc what inspires him to do so much good….he said his parents always encouraged him in a positive and loving way. Doc is also spiritually motivated, but he realizes not everyone believes as he does. Doc said if you can believe in one thing, believe in yourself.
Thank you Doc Wilcox for making our community beautiful, thank you for taking the time to lift us all up, and we hope that we will all follow your lead. We also would like to thank the anonymous member of our community that identified Doc Wilcox as someone who does so much good in his community.
If there is someone in the community you would like to spotlight please reach out to kiley@liftupyourcommunity.com or give us a call at (804)867-5557. We look forward to hearing from you! For more information about #liftupyourcommunity and how you can get involved please visit www.liftupyourcommunity.com.
We have shared a few posts recently about Emmitt (86 year old US Army veteran) and his grandson. An anonymous member our community informed us of his need for a wheelchair ramp to access his home and bathroom renovation. We already informed you that the Sparta Ruritans installed a wheelchair ramp within a couple of days of finding out about Emmitt.
We also shared that an anonymous couple of members of our community felt inspired to renovate the bathroom. This couple is actually a married couple in our community. They linked up with and coordinated with Resurrection Disaster Relief which provided additional manpower and resources to assist with the entire project.
They spent most of the last week and a half fulfilling Emmitt’s need for a bathroom renovation and much more! We are so happy to report that this group of individuals from our community completed all the work this past Friday. Not only did they completely gut and renovate the bathroom, but they also removed the bathtub (Emmitt could barely lift his leg over the side of the tub to get in) and installed a walk-in shower, provided an entirely new bathroom, identified that their kitchen floor needed replacement which they replaced and found out there was no insulation under the house and installed new insulation.
This past week this couple celebrated their 34th anniversary by spending almost the entire day working together with members of the Resurrection Disaster Relief on this project for Emmitt and his grandson.
After
On behalf of our entire community, we say thank you to all involved in this project. We also want to thank Emmitt for his service to our great country and for allowing these wonderful members of our community to lift them up in their time of need. We have been told by those involved that they feel more blessed than Emmitt and his grandson for the opportunity to serve.
Please see attached pictures showing the before and after photos of the project. It is extremely humbling and inspiring to see members of our community coming together to share their time, talents, and resources to lift people up in their time of need. We ask that if you become aware of someone in need to please reach out so our community can coordinate relief. Please share with your friends so we can get everyone involved in this exciting work! We also encourage organizations, charities, schools, colleges, families, and/or a group of individuals in every community to organize a #liftupyourcommunity effort in your community! Lastly, we will have more details soon about Emmet (different from the above) and his fiancé that have been living without running water for 3 years and are also in need of home repairs. Assistance is being coordinated to lift them up in their time of need! More to come soon…
An anonymous member of our community (thank you for sharing) just reached out to us about Emmet and his fiancé that are in need.
Emmet(different from the Emmitt that was recently in need of a bathroom renovation and wheelchair ramp) and his girlfriend at the time moved from Northern Virginia to Caroline county in 2008. Emmet was a carpenter for many years before back injuries left him disabled and his fiancé works in the grocery industry. They love God and our wonderful country. They plan to get married this year in October.
Shortly after buying their home in Caroline they started having significant issues and realized they had bought a lemon. Their house has deteriorated over the years mostly due to copper piping that has become brittle and can be squeezed with a hand… if they turn on the water in their house it leaks all over the place causing significant damage.
They have not had running water in their house for over 3 years. They pour bottled water into buckets and shower outside. Bottled water is also used for cooking and drinking water. Rainwater is collected to flush the toilets and clean the house amongst other things.
When we first approached Emmet about their situation and offered to help he said they are fine and are getting by. We told him that we would really like to share their situation with the community and see if anyone can help lift them up in their time of need.
He was hesitant at first but then realized he desperately needs assistance and would be extremely grateful for any help. He said the main issue is that he can’t afford the piping replacement that needs to be done, the materials needed to do all the repairs and because of his health will need assistance with labor. He said that he would be thankful for any help and said “it would be nice to take a real shower again”.
If you feel inspired to assist (with time, skills, resources, labor – doesn’t have to be for the entire project)) please contact us privately on Facebook, email us at liftupyourcommunity@mattbrandtinsurance.com, or call our office 804-633-4242 and we will provide more details for you to reach out and coordinate relief/assistance directly with Emmet.
We ask that each member of our community keep Emmet and his fiancé in your thoughts and prayers. We want to thank the anonymous member of our community that identified a person in need and acted on the prompting to help by communicating the situation.
If you become aware of someone in our community that is in need or deserves to be spotlighted for the goodness they do please let us know so we can share. Also, please communicate volunteer opportunities. Let’s not leave anyone out!#liftupyyourcommunity
More to come soon…