As a child growing up without cable, internet, or Spotify, I found my fun and adventure in books. We were blessed to have the Wise County Public Library bookmobile come through our area of the County, and they would let you check out five books per week. By the end of the summer, I had read most (if not all) of the books in the bookmobile, so I would spend the last two weeks rereading “the best of the summer” books.

Most people who know me know of my passion for reading. It starts for me in the morning with reading a couple of online papers, going to Bloomberg, BBC, WCYB, Cardinal News, and Local News feeds, among others. In a couple of weeks, we will head to the Beach for vacation. I have two books ready for the trip (“The Man Who Stole the Gods” and “The Light of Battle“) and am looking for a few more.

This background plays into my and our Bank’s strong and long-lasting support of the Virginia Reads program that our Virginia Bankers Association helps sponsor each year. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a young lady (8-10) in our Wise Lobby. Rather than looking at an electronic device, she was looking through the magazines we had on the end table. Those are banking and business magazines, and I suggested to the folks at Wise that maybe we could put out a few books for youngsters to peruse while they waited on their parents.

Well, the office took this much further than I could have imagined and created a space for children in our office. I was humbled and shed a tear when I saw it Friday morning. When we do things for kids, we create a brighter future. When we encourage folks to read (kids, adults, bankers), we help create a better and smarter world.

So, look out, Dolly (Parton). I’m coming for you with books in my hands.

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“Letters From Leton” is a blog series comprised of the weekly updates that Leton Harding – President, Chairman, and CEO of Powell Valley National Bank, shares with the Bank’s team members. These newsletters are full of uplifting anecdotes and intriguing insights that are applicable beyond the Bank, so we want to share them with you.