By Richard Budman
Owner/Publisher, The Signal
Thanksgiving is a family day, a day when multiple generations gather together to celebrate and remember the good things we have in our life and to count our blessings.
This year we must also remember the tragic events of Nov. 14. This year we must all say a prayer and think about the lives that were lost and how all of us have been changed forever.
But what do I want to remember most?
I want to remember how our community came together. I want to remember the love, comfort and support that everyone showed. I want to remember how in a horrific time our city responded.
From the William S. Hart Union High School District staff, to teachers and students, to first responders and the Sheriff’s Department, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, the city and all the residents who have now banded together to donate and offer aid and comfort wherever needed.
On Nov. 14, we all became #SaugusStrong.
This community reacted with class and dignity and I am very proud.
We should all be very proud.
Santa Clarita is defined by the great people who live and work here, and not by this incident.
We are a tight-knit community, and our community has come together in a time of crisis.
This is what we should remember, not one lone random act.
This Thanksgiving Day I will also be reflecting on what I am personally thankful for, my family, my work family, friends and our good health.
My daughter Lauren is bright and healthy and going for her doctorate degree in psychology.
My wife and I have been happily married for 36 years. We have a home in a community we love.
Our dog Max is about as healthy as a 15-year-old dog can be.
I have a great team of very hard-working, dedicated Signal employees committed to putting out a great, quality, community newspaper.
I’m thankful to be able to give back to the community I love and call home.
Most importantly I am thankful for what we should all be thankful for and how truly lucky we are to live in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Yes, we do have our problems here just like every other community in the world.
You can’t have a city of 300,000 people without some crime, some homelessness and some mental illness.
A great community is not a community without problems. It’s a community that takes care of its problems in an open, caring and professional manner.
We complain about our traffic and yes, we have the growing pains of a city that is so desirable that many people want to move here.
We could have it a lot worse. A lot worse.
I think about how lucky we are to live in Santa Clarita where we have good government, a fantastic Sheriff’s Department and prosperity.
We have planned growth that is the envy of the entire country, we have five City Council members with whom you might not agree all the time, but who are doing what they believe is the best for the city they live in and love. We have a great city manager and staff.
We are one of the safest cities in the nation and we have a surplus.
We have community leaders who give so much of their time and money, it’s incredible. They are all trying to make our community a better place to live, work, go to school, shop and play.
They are community leaders not because they donate their time and money. These are community leaders who care about the people in their community, then try to make it a better place by getting involved.
Santa Clarita is defined by the people who live and work here.
The entire community of caring, giving people, who support each other and make a difference.
I love Santa Clarita.
Thank God we live in Santa Clarita
Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!
Richard Budman is the owner and publisher of The Signal.
