ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 29, 1997 TAG: 9703310027
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN/THE ROANOKE TIMES
Barely on the job three weeks, new Montgomery County Administrator Jeff Johnson says, "Here comes my favorite lady," as his predecessor walks in the door.
Betty Thomas has that effect on people. As one of the longest-tenured county administrators in the state, Thomas has had a chance to affect many people's lives in her 16 years as the county's top executive.
When she stops to ask "How are you?" with her customary intent gaze into your eyes, people feel she really wants to know.
As Thomas prepares to retire Monday, organizations such as 4-H, the local library, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program have lined up to present her accolades, awards and certificates of appreciation.
More than one member of her staff became teary-eyed as Thomas spoke during a February reception thrown for her by the Cooperative Extension office and attend-
ed by local judges, politicians, and county workers to celebrate Thomas' 25 years in county government.
Thomas came to Montgomery County in 1972 as an assistant county administrator after working for several years as a secretary for her father, then Floyd County's sheriff.
She brought with her the philosophical prose of the Desiderata, filled with advice that she's applied throughout her career. "As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they, too, have their story," it begins.
"Isn't that beautiful?" she says. |--| Thomas retires as one of Virginia's earliest and longest-serving female local government executives. She was appointed county administrator in 1981, after two stints as acting county administrator and nine years as assistant county administrator.
Health problems that kept her away from work for six weeks last summer influenced her decision to leave, she said in November when announcing her retirement.
Blacksburg businessman Larry Linkous, a former chairman of the Board of Supervisors, calls Thomas the definition of a Southern lady.
"There's a new TV show, 'Everybody loves Raymond.' We should have one in Montgomery County that's called 'Everybody loves Betty,'" Linkous told about 95 people who attended Thomas' retirement dinner at the Farmhouse Restaurant Thursday evening.
Linkous recalled once feeling lost as he listened to speakers during a public hearing and wanting to jot down an issue he needed to check on later. As he sat trying to focus, Thomas passed him a note saying just what needed doing.
"That's the kind of county administrator she was. She didn't do that for me. She did that for everyone who was on that board."
When Thomas reflects on her years with the county, she doesn't often use the word "I."
"I'm not an individual that wants to have the upper hand," she says.
Instead, she constantly talks about county citizens and a team of county employees. She also repeatedly compliments the Board of Supervisors.
Thomas' departure comes at a time when the county has lost several of its top administrators.
County Attorney Roy Thorpe left to become Falls Church's city attorney last year. Jeff Lunsford, Thomas' assistant county administrator and former finance director, became Louisa County's top administrator earlier this month. Don Moore, the county's economic development director, left in February for a job in the private sector.
And two of the three county supervisors whose seats are up for election in the fall - Republican Henry Jablonski and Democrat Jim Moore - have announced they won't run again.
When people speak of Thomas, they refer to her quiet nature. Some describe a style of management where, rather than initiating action, she carried out the wishes of her seven bosses, who changed every two years or so. Others say Thomas was masterful at initiating things, but did it so skillfully no one noticed and others could take credit.
Those who have benefited from her expertise - like former chairmen Linkous and Jablonski - sing her praises.
"You look at where this county was in 1981 and where it is today," Linkous said. "It went from being a sleepy little community to really the growth center of Southwest Virginia and that didn't happen without some degree of leadership, which she supplied."
Jablonski praised Thomas' knowledge in budget recommendations, making periodic reports on county matters, and her ability to gather information and schedule productive meetings on short notice.
"She helped orient new supervisors to their roles by arranging orientation trips to ...the jail, landfills, the recreation facilities and treatment plants. I particularly recall that a meal was arranged to be served to us in the jail so that we could see the space needs up real close. Betty knew how to get our attention on problem areas in a diplomatic way," Jablonski said.
Thomas looks back at her tenure with reserved pride.
"Look at all the growth and the taxes it generates. And at the same time, we're building much-needed schools. ...the infrastructure is critical and we're addressing that issue. I'm extremely pleased with the county's growth," she said.
That growth has allowed the county to prosper while maintaining a conservative tax rate.
J. Patrick Graybeal, a juvenile and domestic court judge and the county's former commonwealth's attorney, remembers that when Thomas first came to work her office was a cubbyhole in the building now known as the courthouse annex.
Graybeal, who's also retiring, and Thomas decided they were being honored too much earlier this month and turned the tables - throwing a lunch-time "thank you" reception for county and court employees.
Graybeal said Thomas' quiet, behind-the-scenes style may have caused people to underestimate her achievements for the county. He called Thomas very well-organized and a forward-thinking administrator. "... She gets it done and nobody realizes what she has done."
County citizens began to realize that Thomas had the right stuff to lead the county after she held the job temporarily twice, he said. "It became fairly apparent that she could do it as well as anybody - or better than," Graybeal said.
"Certainly she hasn't sought any credit and has never been given any of difficulties " |--| On a recent day in Thomas' office, scrapbooks, pictures, newspaper clippings and cards wishing her well surround her.
A picture of a younger Betty Thomas on her first day on the job in 1981 lies on the desk. In the picture, she is surrounded by flowers, cards, a fruit basket. "That was "a long, long time ago," she sighs.
Sixteen years later, her office is again littered with flowers, cards, balloons, congratulatory notes. This time, its to wish her well in her retirement.
She began digging those early letters and cards, photographs and clippings out of a deep desk drawer to match them with her retirement mementos in scrapbooks."I had in the back of my mind that one of these days I would treasure those memories."
Her retirement plans?
"First of all, I'm going to rest and I'm going to play with my little puppy," she says. Cuddles is a 4-year-old pug that Thomas found from an ad in the paper. She proudly pulls out a photo of Cuddles, dressed in a sweater.
Thomas also plans to travel, something she's managed to find time to do with long-time friend Mary Huff who works the information desk in the courthouse's lobby. The two have traveled to Greece and California.
Her nephew, Paul Randall, has been in Jerusalem working at the U.S. Consulate. Now, he's asked her to visit him, his wife and new baby in London.
"I have very few family so I cherish those [left]. I lost a precious brother when he was in his 40s and I lost my mother and father closely together, so I've had a lot of grief, and I miss them so," Thomas said.
In 1991, Thomas married Richard M. Yearwood, an associate professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech. He was on the board from 1980 to 1983 when Thomas was named county manager and was chairman for three years.
Her staff has become an extended family. Thomas' scrapbook includes photos of get-togethers at her Emerald Boulevard home in Christiansburg's upscale Diamond Point neighborhood.
At Thursday's retirement dinner, Supervisors' Chairman Joe Gorman presented Thomas with a resolution of appreciation so long in its "whereases" that the usual gold seal attached to those documents wouldn't fit.
She told those gathered that she looks forward to new hopes, strengths and opportunities. "As long as memory lives, years cannot erase the joy that years of public service has given me."
LENGTH: Long : 158 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/THE ROANOKE TIMES. Montgomery Countyby CNBAdministrator Betty Thomas retires Monday as one of Virginia's
earliest and longest-serving female local government executives.
color.