I consider myself very fortunate to live in the beautiful Roanoke Valley. My husband and I were born and raised here. I was brought up in Roanoke County and went to Northside High School. He was from Salem and graduated from Andrew Lewis. We were both very lucky to get good jobs when we graduated. I went to work for GE and he went to Carter Machinery, where he is still employed with 36 years service.

Growing up as a child in Roanoke I never lacked for things to do. There was Lakeside Amusement Park, concerts at Victory Stadium, rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway and big snows in the winter. One of my favorite memories was sharing a chocolate milkshake with my dad at the counter top bar at the local drug store. I loved to sit on the stool and go round and round!

After Mike and I got married and started our family, we moved to Botetourt County where we remained until our children were grown. We never considered moving anywhere else because we knew there was no better place to raise our children than the Roanoke Valley. We had great schools, lots of activities to keep us busy and a peace of mind that our children were safe.

We moved from Botetourt to Roanoke County 4 years ago. We enjoy all of the conveniences we have but we especially love the traditional neighborhood with sidewalks and front porches. It reminds me of the Roanoke neighborhood I was raised in.

In the work place, it has definitely been a plus to have my roots in the Roanoke Valley. Working as a business consultant in marketing and advertising with Online Advantage and Roanoke Biz2Biz, my heritage has served me well. Over my fifty plus years, I know a lot of people, I have a lot of connections and I know how to get anywhere. Just ask me!

• Patsy’s Occupation: Operations Manager, Roanoke Biz2Biz, JobzCafe, OSAdvantage
• Patsy’s Hometown: Roanoke, VA
• Patsy’s Social Profiles: Facebook, LinkedIn

I came to Roanoke 13 years ago with my husband and two children. We are from Sarajevo, from Bosnia and Herzegovina. I never thought that I would move away from my hometown. I loved everything there. I spent my childhood and early adulthood in Sarajevo – a happy time and place. My heart was full of love and my life felt like a poem put to motion. Everything was beautiful and peaceful. People were smiling. Children were playing. Birds were singing all-around. Flowers were blooming everywhere.

Yet Sarajevo, Olympic City suddenly changed. This warm, beautiful, bright city became a dark, scary place. People changed. Neighbors became enemies. They started to hate each other. Bombs, shells, blood littered the landscape. No food, electricity, water. This went on for three years. Hope sustained us in our struggle and fight for life.

Than one day, I woke up in a city named Roanoke. It was July 8, 1995 a warm and sunny day. Our little family living in this little city. What are we doing here? Starting our life from the beginning. We were fortunate to have a chance! After days, months and years of hard work as a refugee, we all became citizens of our new Country.

One day I heard somebody say, “Your heart is where your home is”. My home is here as is my heart. This is a place where I met my friends and started my new life. Roanoke is my new hometown. Now I am very rich. I have two hometowns, two countries. I love both of them, but Roanoke is the place where my husband and I are enjoying life. We will be forever grateful for the wonderful hospitality we have found here.

• Adelaida’s Career: Department Secretary, Jefferson College of Health Sciences
• Adelaida’s Hometown: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

My husband, David, and I were drawn to the Roanoke Valley by the opportunity offered to me in 2004 to become president of Hollins University. Since then, I have been fortunate to witness first-hand here the transformative power of women’s education, and at the same time David and I also feel blessed to live in the midst of such striking surroundings. We love having four seasons and whenever we can we take advantage of the many ways one can enjoy the outdoors in this area, especially hiking. Other treasures we’ve discovered include the Roanoke City Market, an eclectic array of great restaurants, and the Grandin area, which is our favorite place to have dinner and catch a movie.

Describing our experience since we moved to the Roanoke Valley would not be complete without acknowledging the warmth and graciousness of the people who live here. From the very beginning we felt welcome and were encouraged to become an active part of this community. We will be forever grateful for this wonderful hospitality.

I encourage anyone who has the chance to do so to come to this special place. I also want to extend my personal invitation to visit Hollins University. You can see our world-class art museum, attend one of the many cultural events we hold here throughout the year, or simply walk the grounds and enjoy the beauty of our historic campus.

• Nancy’s Career: President, Hollins University
• Nancy’s Hometown: Dallas, TX

Sherry and I were both working at GE in the 1970s. We met at the water fountain! She was raised here; I was raised ‘up North’! Despite that significant liability, we were married, and moved into a duplex in the Raleigh Court area. The old GE motto was right, “we bring good things to life”: our son was born at Community hospital and our first daughter was born at Lewis-Gale. The Roanoke Valley was our personal genesis: the place where so many things began for us. We moved away in the 1980s to work with students at the University of Virginia, but now, after 23 years, we have been called back to live and work in this beautiful valley. We are involved in planting a new kind of church in Roanoke and, not too surprisingly, it is located in the Raleigh Court Area and is filled with young people and young families who will be the future of this community and who are putting together their own set of beginnings.

• Tom’s Career: Pastor, Christ Our Redeemer Church

I’m a New Jersey native and lived there 38 years before moving to Atlanta, GA for two years. While there, I received a phone call from a recruiter who was looking for someone with dental experience and interested in relocating to Virginia. My parents had retired to Williamsburg in 1978 and I considered Williamsburg “home”. My dad’s health was failing so I took this as a sign and relocated to Roanoke to get closer to my parents. This gave me the opportunity to spend a lot more time with my dad before he passed away two years later. I enjoy living in Roanoke and being single, it is a small city with lots of things to do and I feel very safe here. Although I still possess a slight “Jersey” accent while my friends from NJ insist I have a Southern drawl! I’m now working for Delta Dental of Virginia and I’m in my ninth year here. My prior Delta Dental experience includes two years in Atlanta and ten in New Jersey. I am the Training & Development Specialist and work in Human Resources; one of the things I like the best is getting to meet every single new employee!

• Brooke’s Employer: Training & Development Specialist, Delta Dental
• Brooke’s Hometown: Wharton, New Jersey