B.J. FLETCHER: Albany commissioner thanks community for compassion

There’s an old saying that you find out who your true friends are when you really need them. Given that criteria, I have found over the last several days that I have some true friends in Albany, Georgia.

Admittedly, I have been distracted over the last several months as I dedicated the overwhelming majority of my time to the care of and, this past Monday, the laying to rest of my mother. Vesta Coston Fletcher gave so much of herself as she raised my siblings and me, and it was my honor to return a little of that care over the final days of her life.

In time, I have no doubt that I will be able to personally thank each person who offered a hand, a kind word or a prayer on my mother’s behalf. But until such time, please allow this outpouring of gratitude to include every single person who helped make my mother’s transition from this life to her eternal home as easy as it could possibly be.

Over the past 22 months, my family and I were presented with many challenges, which would have been even more difficult if not for the support we received from this community. The emails, texts, calls and visits gave us the stamina and the ammunition we required to meet those challenges head-on and to persevere. It’s never easy to lose someone you love, but knowing we can count on friends, colleagues and peers helps us get through such dark times.

Please, friends, constituents, co-workers and especially my fellow board members on the Albany City Commission, as well as administrators and city staff, know that I am humbled and blessed by the respect shown to me and my family. It is the same respect we always show each other. I continue to believe that our city is a city on the move in a positive direction, and something as simple as basic respect for each other is part of what makes Albany the city that we love and keeps us on our quest to make it better each passing day.

In times like these, when we must say farewell to someone who has guided us and loved us through all the days of our lives, carrying on can seem like a burden too difficult to bear. But because we are so honored to live in a community filled with friends, co-workers and citizens whose compassion reaches beyond petty differences, we know that we can carry on.

My mother, Vesta Fletcher, left behind a legacy of faith, love and righteousness. With the help and support of Albany and its people, my goal is to live each day as a testament to that legacy.

I offer my thanks and blessings with deepest respect and appreciation.

Businesswoman B.J. Fletcher is the Albany City Commission’s Ward III representative.