Dear Editor:

For all of his adult life, Henry Summer has been a good friend of mine. His parents, Mary and Walter, were close friends, as were his wife's parents, Neal Davis and Ethel Corley. I know Henry to be a solid family man, good husband and loving father. He is a man of solid character, great humility and good humor-as well as a skilled accountant, a hard-working businessman and a strong supporter of every good cause.

I am asking voters to support Henry for County Council in November-not because he is a good friend of mine, but because Henry Summer has been a good friend to Newberry.

Henry was first elected to council during the hard times after the cotton mills had closed, and with laser-like focus, he worked to bring a diversity of jobs into Newberry County. As he said at the time: “jobs make all the difference.” Jobs help families to be self-supporting, jobs keep the local economy strong and broaden the tax base, jobs determine the quality of life in a community.

Henry worked hard to build the infrastructure that industries need, to create industrial parks, and to bring Piedmont Tech classes to Newberry County for job training. Except for Henry's dedication and farsightedness, Newberry County would be a much different place today. The jobs he worked to bring home to Newberry have improved the quality of life for all of us. These jobs have kept families out of public assistance programs, have made our communities stronger and have provided families with the income to support the restaurants and businesses in our downtown revitalization effort.

Henry Summer has indeed been a good friend to Newberry County: to businesses, to senior citizens, to law enforcement, to volunteer fire departments, to emergency services, to education, to the health care community.

As a life-long observer of (and participant in) local politics, I have seen many elected officials who have worked hard to make a positive difference. Henry Summer is certainly one of them. For 24 years he has been a good friend to Newberry County, and I am asking voters to be a good friend to him in November.

Thank you,

Lin Slaton

Newberry