To the citizens of Enumclaw,

Greetings and happy Thanksgiving to your family.

There are two messages I would like to address in this letter. First is COVID and how it continues to affect us in our community. COVID concerns continue on many levels. How long will it continue? Will the vaccine be the answer? What if a family member contracts the virus? How do we deal with the emotional wear on us? How can we find solutions to the stress of working at home and assisting our children with homework? Our seniors are becoming isolated and have no social contact. The impact of childcare and kids’ extracurricular activities being limited or cancelled. There are so many issues that are constantly coming at us and at times they appear to have no end in sight. How does one bridge the gap from what we had as a normal, pre-COVID life to what we are experiencing now? There are many ways to answer that question. I will simply state that we should stay true to what is right, do not neglect the gift you have, rather expand on it in a positive way. Seek out positive communication, positive interaction, positive experiences, positive emotions. Most of all gratitude for one another.

The second message to convey is that the beginning of the holiday shopping season and the Small Business Weekend is about to begin in Enumclaw and it is more important than ever to support our local, family owned businesses, as well as those entities that have been doing business in our community for decades. It will continue to be a financial challenge for our businesses through the end of this year and early in 2021. Can I find that gift in one of our stores rather than online? Shopping local first will not only be showing your support to our businesses and local families that own them, it will also assist those that are employed locally to continue to earn an income and provide for their families.

Please join me in having a safe and enjoyable holiday season while shopping local in Enumclaw.

Shop Enumclaw first.

Mayor Jan Molinaro