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Winding Up 2020
Best Wishes for 2021
As we wind up the year and are looking to the New Year differently than ever before, let’s take a moment to reflect on 2020.
As many have noted, 2020 was a year like no other, and we hope it stays unique in history. A year to look back on and study as a different kind of year, not the beginning of a trend.
The overriding 2020 theme of the Covid-19 pandemic with the tremendous loss of life across the country and our own community is genuinely horrifying. We are very saddened by the needless loss, and our hearts go out to those whose families have been impacted. On the other side of the sadness is the extraordinary efforts by all of our Essential Workers, which we talked about in our Q3 Impact issue. Twenty-twenty was a time for our community to pull together, help our neighbors, and slow down a bit to reflect on what and who is important to us. Unfortunately, even though a vaccine appears to be on the horizon, there is still a long way to go before we are past this crisis. Until a vaccine becomes widely distributed next year, we will need to continue to be vigilant in the care for our community. We need to wear masks and socially distance to protect ourselves and our family members. We know it will not be easy; we miss our family and our friends. We are all tired and have “pandemic fatigue” – but imagine those that are giving day-to-day care to the sick, risking their health, missing their families and enduring the sadness of seeing the tremendous loss and toll this is taking on individuals and our community. We need to step up, wear masks, and socially distance to protect our healthcare and essential workers.
The other theme of the year was social justice for all members of the community without regard for where they were born, the color of their skin, the people they love, or the gender they identify. We believe that social injustice and systemic racism must end. As a community, we need to take care of one another through this pandemic, and we also need to make sure we keep taking care of each other and see each other as essential to our diverse and beautiful community.
We also need to protect our local businesses. Shop Local. Shopping locally from small to big items – from shoes to cars, as we cover here in our Multi-Modal issue – helps keep local businesses in business, protects local jobs, and keeps the dollars here in our community. Those dollars generate sales tax, which our City and county programs rely on to serve the community and maintain our infrastructure from parks to roads. If you are giving gifts this holiday season, give them with the knowledge that you Shopped Locally.
Happy Holidays, Stay Safe, Shop Local, Shop Lawrence!
Sincerely,
- Ann Frame Hertzog, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher
Steven Hertzog, Chief Photographer/Publisher
