In Response to Ron Santmyers’ Recent Letter to the Editor  

I have only good to say. Your father was a mentor to me at an age when I really needed an adult. He had the amazing ability to connect with my generation better than adults outside of our coaches and teachers at that time. He wrote the recommendation to JMU that tilted their decision towards my acceptance. He did that for many of us throughout his time at the youth center. He was a friend who would shoot straight with you even though we did not always like what he said.

So, to say the least, I was stunned to find that the youth center was closed when I returned to Front Royal after 45 years. We face real challenges in our Town as we see the effects of COVID and increased student drug use, with nowhere that our young people can go to just hang out in a safe place.

I was personally involved with several of the focus group discussions with students, parents, and teachers to get their input on what they would like to see offered in a new youth center. One of the discussions was around the name of the center. When we asked, it was confirmed by the students that calling it a “youth center” had a different meaning back in our day. The students felt that it would turn off some students from coming. By calling it a “youth center,” they felt people would think it was for younger ages and older kids would not come.

Their sage input was to call it a Student Union because that portrayed something more like a college environment and open to all ages. Armed with this feedback, I am confident the RON organization (‘Reaching Out Now,’ a nonprofit) wants to ensure your dad is given the proper respect he deserves for his dedication to the youth in our community. Naming it the Raymond Santmyers Student Union better serves the times we live in.

We are blessed to have Samantha Barber, founder of RON, stepping forward to take on the challenge of reenergizing the Student Union. Like your father, she can connect with students of all ages and has worked with students in our community for the last eight years. She has many fun programs for the students to get involved in while developing a mentor group of all ages to interface in a Student Union environment. It will be very cool (to use a descriptive word from my generation) to create a coffee shop environment in the big room, with couches, tables, and chairs throughout.

The best news is that RON has a very active board of people who are already energized and dedicated to making the effort successful. They will be a stand-alone organization that will not require oversight from either Town or County governmental entities.

I hope the above clears up any concerns you might have about this effort. Please give Samantha a call with any other questions that pop up. She would love to share with you her vision of building something for our students that will create the same good memories that many of us have had growing up in Front Royal. Raymond Santmyers would be proud.

Michael Graham
Front Royal, VA

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