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Shelia Sampson grew up in Goshen and, even though she has lived other places, she has always found her way back and has lived in town for the past 30 years.
“Goshen is my home and I love it,” she said. “It’s beautiful, quiet, and the people that live here are awesome friends and neighbors who care about each other.”
Sampson hasn’t held public office before, but she worked for the Department of Corrections for 32 years, including 25 years in supervision and management. Since her retirement, she has served as a substitute teacher in Bath County and for the past five years, she has served as Goshen’s town clerk, a position she says she’ll step down from if elected to Town Council.
Serving as the clerk, she said, has helped her get to know many town residents better.
“We’re such a small town, less than 350 people, and it has been wonderful getting to know everyone,” she said. “I knew a lot of them due to being here for so much of my life, but I didn’t know them nearly as well as I do now and there were some that I didn’t know at all and now I do.
“I’ve seen first-hand how the town’s bank accounts have grown over the past four years,” she added. “The current Council has found new ways to bring revenue in to the town, without putting hardships on the residents.”
If elected, completion of the proposed community service center is one of her primary goals. Goshen residents, she said, deserve a center that can provide services such as a food pantry or medical and dental services “that don’t require them to travel to Lexington or Staunton,” despite what some people may say.
“There are a few people – some in town and some not – that believe our current Council is making a mistake by trying to build a community service center. I feel that these people are probably not people who plan to use these services or they don’t have a need for them so they don’t want it to be built. We have a lot of people who will benefit from the services that will be offered and they deserve to have them. I want to be a part of a council that looks out for the best interest of the residents in Goshen as well as the surrounding community that will be able to utilize these services.”
Other things she hopes to accomplish are replacing the water lines and searching for funding to complete a town park, both of which are projects that are already in the works.
“If elected I will do my part to ensure that these projects are pursued to the end,” she said. “So often projects get started and are never completed because of changes that occur in the governing body. We need to keep the momentum going and continue to do everything possible for our residents. Anyone wanting to support these things for Goshen should vote for me because I am very committed to our community and to pushing for all of these projects.”
