Josh “JT” Turner
IT system engineer at Samtec; New Albany City
Council representative for District 5
Definition of leadership:
I learned a lot about leadership from the military. Leadership is action, it
is not position or an office you hold. Your actions can inspire people to do
more and that, my friends, is how you change the world.
How has the coronavirus outbreak impacted your life most and
what will you tell future generations about COVID-19 from your
perspective?
Early on, like most Americans, I was skeptical of the impact the coro-
navirus would have on our daily lives. Just like most Americans, I quickly
realized it would take some personal responsibility to help “flatten the curve.”
As a family, we have chosen to follow the stay at home orders and have
only went out to stores for essential items and limiting exposure by almost
exclusively using click-list
to pick up our orders. My
job gives me the freedom to
still accomplish 100% of my
daily tasks while working
from home. During the times
that we needed physical and
mental health breaks, we uti-
lized our public parks to walk
in the grass, trails, and main-
tain safe distance from others.
Many people will be affected
or even lose someone to this
pandemic. Luckily, to this
point we have not had anyone
close to us become infected.
For us, through these rough
times, we have found the sil-
ver lining. As I am writing this, I am on my back porch watching my wife and
two kids play on their swing set and blow bubbles, all of which are activities
I would typically miss because of work or other responsibilities within our
community. The world has slowed down a lot, but maybe that is exactly what
we needed to bring our families closer.
One day, when I am an old man, I will be telling my grandkids about the
summer we lost but found something together as a community. I will talk
about the summer we camped out at home, when we had more movie nights
than any summer before or after, and when we checked in on our neighbors
a few more times than normal. I will tell them about the strength of our first
responders, medical professionals, and the ingenuity of our community to rise
to the need of a problem. I will tell them that United States of America has
been through it all and we have always risen to the occasion.
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May / June 2020
Jamie Homeister
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That from the very beginning, it demanded
our attention and our respect. I will not hide
how unkind COVID-19 has been or spare
them the details of how gravely we suffered
under its tenure. But I will also remind my
listeners that nothing sturdily built can be
so easily broken. And, despite all their mis-
givings, this teacher was showing us where
our web of life had become too full of loose
threads, and that somewhere along the way,
we turned to value production over connec-
tion. This teacher was demanding that we sit
and look at what we are a part of. What is
happing now, and took away our privilege
of freedom and of gluttony to ensure we did
not miss the lesson. It put a pin on our map
and asked us point blank: With your neigh-
bors’ thread of life in your hand, will you
still choose to only consider yourself?”
Brad Norrington
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36
I would tell future generations that while
the weeks and months that were consumed
by the pandemic were rough, it was a time
in our country when we were able to band
together and not worry about politics or our
own personal interests. We were able to
band together as a community and a country
to do what had to be done. We lifted up those
in need. We supported those that endured
sacrifices for others and we realized that
when everything around us is falling apart
there are certain people that are essential
in ensuring that our way of life continues.
I would also say that I have learned more
about my family in the last few weeks than
I thought was possible. We have spent time
together and in that time learned about what
is really important in life. The time spent
together allowed us to remain in good spirits
and persevere. We learned that no matter all
the bad that is going on in the world, this
too shall pass.