Steve Frey
Contributing writer
Lao-Tsu once said, “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
The Radford City Council together at Monday’s meeting. Pictured are: (from left) Councilwoman Naomi Huntington, Councilman Rob Gropman, Mayor David Horton, Vice-Mayor Dick Harshberger and Councilwoman Jessie Critterton.
Monday, a new journey began for members of the Radford City Council and the Radford City School Board as they were sworn in to start their terms in a city council chamber filled with family, friends and community members.
Lynn Burris returned to the school board, joined by newcomers Liz Altieri and Lee Slusher.
Burris is beginning his fifth term on the board, while Altieri has been a special education teacher and a supervisor of student teachers with 25 years in the education field.
Slusher grew up in Radford and was a classroom teacher for 28 years, retiring as an English teacher at John N. Dalton Intermediate School in 2013.
For the city council team, David Horton officially became mayor after serving as the president of the Radford Chamber of Commerce. He has worked at Radford University for 27 years, currently serving as Director of the Summer Bridge STEM program and the Communications and Outreach Officer for the Artis College of Science and Technology.
Councilwoman Naomi Huntington is a former assistant commonwealth’s attorney and current criminal defense attorney. Councilwoman Jessie Critterton founded Medreach and has served on the Radford School Board for the past four years.
After the oaths of office were administered, Horton presented an inspirational vision for Radford. He referenced the theme song from Disney’s Carousel of Progress, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” in his speech and even had a pin inside his jacket for the occasion with the same quote.
Richard Sherman, one of the co-writers of the song once said, “The theme song, `Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,’ had a wonderful positiveness about it.”
In a way, it was Walt’s (Disney) theme song, because he was very positive about the future. He really felt that there was a great big beautiful tomorrow shining at the end of every day.” This is the kind of future Horton sees for Radford.
Horton said all of the people sworn in would “be working hard to attract new jobs for the 21st century; they’ll grow our community. We’ll invest in our assets: our schools, our parks, our infrastructure, our business districts, our river and much more.”
He went on to say that “private and public investment are central to our success, and we must enhance the financial foundation of the city and prepare for the future we want to experience.”
Horton said, “All of this is possible with a willing and optimistic outlook. Every member of the Radford community has a role to play in our success story. It’s incumbent on all of us to participate and not just watch what happens…As a chorus, we’ll sing the praises of our city. As a team, we will support the efforts of our citizens, businesses and civic employees. As ambassadors, we will share our story. If we do these things, the sky is the limit for Radford.
“We are one community, both east and west, and if we come together, our best days are ahead of us as we proceed down a new path to prosperity together. We’ll find much success and new heights we never imagined, and we’ll enjoy a beautiful tomorrow,” he said.
The Radford City School Board members are (from left) Lynn Burris, Joe Hester, Adam DeVries, Lee Slusher and Liz Altieri.
Following Horton’s message, Jon and Lucinda Piro of “Ball and Chain” brought everything together by playing both “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” and John Lennon’s “Imagine” for the audience.
“I’m honored to help lead this effort and excited to work with these outstanding leaders on council but to be really successful, we need all hands on deck,” Horton said.
Both the school board and council teams are in place, and they have taken the first steps on the journey toward that great big beautiful tomorrow for Radford City.
