Youth Center Goes Forward as Strategic Hub, Supported by Key Community Players Like Honey & Hops

The Royal Examiner had the privilege of sitting down with Isaac and Adam Rushing of Honey & Hops, as well as Reaching Out Now CEO Samantha Barber, at the Raymond E. Santmyers Student Union & Activity Center on September 1. What followed was a story about purpose, collaboration, and drive. Covering a partnership with RON that spans years, the Rushing brothers explained how their upcoming “Mead Mile” race on November 7 will raise funds that go directly to RON and its mission to come alongside the youth of Front Royal and Warren County: https://www.honeyandhopsbrewworks.com/mead-mile

Joe and Samantha Barber, key players behind Reaching Out Now, the nonprofit that supports the Santmyers youth center. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh

Focused on wellness, the event will be a family affair, with a festival afterward that appeals to all ages, although participation in the race itself requires that participants be 21 or older. The mission is personal to the Rushings, as their father was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022. The money raised naturally goes to RON, as the visions are aligned, with RON’s case focused on the wellness of the community’s young people. “We don’t want Harlee’s story to be anyone’s story,” Isaac explained, referring to Harlee Hire, a young lady beloved of the RON family, who took her life prior to the much-anticipated reopening of the youth center.

As drop-off contributions pour in from the community, Reaching Out Now plays a key role in responding to the closure of E. Wilson Morrison Elementary School. Photos Courtesy of Samantha Barber.

It is all about investment, Barber said. With the recent closure of E. Wilson Morrison Elementary School due to the discovery of structural unsoundness, RON has taken a leading role not only in fundraising for emergency supplies but also in opening the youth center doors, allowing the Santmyers building to serve as a drop-off location. A high stakes meeting about EWM that took place at the youth center, featuring everyone from the town manager to representatives of fire and rescue and law enforcement, has emphasized the youth center not only in its capacity as a refuge but also a strategic hub for critical decision-making operations.

Joe Barber streamlined the philosophy of RON: “It’s not what I did, it’s what we did.” That expansion of “I” to “we” is what makes the youth center mission so effective. For the better part of two decades, they have been investing in relationships, building trust, so that a challenge like the EWM crisis can be met gracefully by people who know each other and share a history. As a refuge, as training grounds for leadership, as a strategic hub, the youth center and its mission are going forward with support from key community players like Honey & Hops, continuing to invest in relationships and build trust.