Published: October 04, 2008 07:41 pm      

Woodard stays true to his Pocahontas roots

TAZEWELL, Va. — Pocahontas is and always will be home for David Woodard.

Woodard, the school board member who joined his community in a spirited but ultimately unsuccessful battle to save Pocahontas High School, said he wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

“Pocahontas is home,” Woodard, owner and operator of Woodard's Pic-N-Save in Pocahontas, said. “My grandparents came here in the late 1950's for business purposes, soon after they built a home and settled here. Of all the places I have been in the world I cannot find more beautiful land or better people than here in Pocahontas. Tazewell County, in particular, is an attractive place. I would not want to be anywhere else.”

While the bitter school closure fight for Pocahontas High School still lingers in the minds of many, Woodard said the spirit of the community — and the former Pocahontas Indians who are now attending school in Tazewell and Graham — is still alive and strong.

“The community must go on,” Woodard said. “A lot of the life of Pocahontas depends on the decisions and directions taken by the town government in Pocahontas. They have a tremendous burden, and I do not envy them. A lot of communities tend to give up after their school is closed. I hope that isn't the case here. Pocahontas has a lot to offer, but obviously the politics of status quo are not going to work any longer. Things must change, and change a lot. I have faith in the town council and mayor that they will embrace the future of Pocahontas with the changes that must take place. Pocahontas is a historical place, it is the beginning of this region concerning industry and infrastructures (such as the railroad and highways).”

However, the future of Pocahontas will have little to do with its history, Woodard said.

“Unfortunately, very few of our historic attributes have been preserved and are now past the point of restoration,” he said. “What can be restored, at this point has no funding. Pocahontas, in my opinion, must look to the future as being one of a residential area that is attractive and pleasing to the eye and wallet. If that happens, a certain amount of business will follow and things in this area will stabilized.”

A graduate of Pocahontas High School and Concord College, Woodard majored in political science with a minor in music. He is married to Mistie Blackwell of Horsepen, and the couple have one son, Tristan.

“We own and operate Woodard's Pic-N-Save in Pocahontas, and I am the third generation in this business and the fourth generation of my family to be in business for themselves,” Woodard, the Northern District member of the Tazewell County School Board, said. “We attend and are active in Pocahontas Baptist Church. We do the children's ministries, I direct VBS (Vacation Bible School), am a worship leader, etc. I am a member of the Pocahontas Lions Club, the Pocahontas Masonic Lodge No. 240, the Beni Kedem Shrine and the Bluefield Shrine Club, was an active member of the Pocahontas Academic Athletic Boosters, intend to be active in the Tazewell High School Boosters, the Abbs Valley PTO and represent the Pocahontas Baptist Church on the East River Baptist Association Executive Committee.”

Woodard said the former Pocahontas Indians will probably have a tough time adjusting — at least initially — to being Graham G-Men and Tazewell Bulldogs.

“Although great strides are being taken to extend an olive branch, it is going to be very difficult for the children who were attending PHS to become a part of other schools,” Woodard said. “My hope is that we make the transition the best we can, and in time things will improve. As new classes of children enter the system it will become the norm and the definitive lines will fade. Until then, we do the best we can with the decision that was made.”

Woodard said the community is still deeply concerned about longer bus travel times for the students in Pocahontas along winding and dangerous roads.

“They are my concerns, too,” Woodard said. “These are dangerous roads, two sections of which Tazewell County Public Schools have never taken buses across on a daily basis, simply because of the danger the roads themselves present. It is well known that children who spend long times on buses perform less than those who have shorter commutes. Add on that switchback curves, eight percent and greater inclines and declines, with ice (some portions of these roads do not thaw for several days after a storm) and the concern is a real threat.”

In terms of his community, Woodard said Pocahontas will not be restored to its former greatness any time soon.

“ I believe we must build Pocahontas to its future greatness,” Woodard said.

Woodard said a big question for the community is how to address the problem of aging and dilapidated buildings.

“This is a five dollar question with a sensitive answer,” he said. “Most of the buildings are in disrepair. They are no longer of historic significance because of their threat to safety, not to mention they are an eyesore. The town of Pocahontas went a great step forward in requiring some buildings be brought to code or be demolished. I would like to see these buildings as they once were, but what we see in the future will have to be replicas. I am a history buff. I love history, but there comes a point in time when the truth must be realized that certain parts of history are beyond salvation. For safety reasons, and so the town of Pocahontas can move forward with residential and economic development, these buildings must be torn down.”

Woodard said he loves his community because the quality of life in Pocahontas and Tazewell County is like no other.

“Southwest Virginia, and particularly Tazewell County and Pocahontas offer a life you cannot find the likes of anywhere else in the world,” he said. “The quality of life is unsurpassed. The air is clean, the water pure, the ground beautiful, the philosophy one of common sense rather than psychotic hypotheses and the people genuine. Where can you find anything like this? If the world knew what we had here, there would be no room for us!”

While a leader in the fight to save Pocahontas High School, Woodard said he doesn’t judge himself by accomplishments.

“I simply judge myself by whether or not what I have done is right,” he said. “At the end of the day, if I stood for what was right and did my best to defend right — I did what I needed to do. In the same token, I try to live by the golden rule. I try to treat my neighbor like I want them to treat me. If we all did that — we would be a different place. I remember a business I used to stop in while in college, it had a sign over its door that said something like 'If everyone swept in front of their own door, the world would be a cleaner place.' I guess you could say that is how I am helping to make a difference in my community. I am trying to sweep in front of my own and not trying to clean up my neighbor's back yard, figuratively speaking.”

While the fight to save Pocahontas High School has been lost, Woodard’s job on the Tazewell County School Board continues. He has new priorities for the future.

“Something I campaigned on, but have not had the chance to address until recently, is vocational education, or career and technical education (as it is now called),” Woodard said. “College is wonderful. I loved every minute of it. However, we have pushed for so long, so hard to put kids in college that we are creating a whole generation of people who hold college degrees that are useless. College has its place, and we should prepare kids the best we can — and encourage them to go. However, along the way our CTE programs have been less attended to. My idea, and goal, is to start sending students from graduation with certifications for jobs that are in the community. Now, to be fair, we do that to an extent. However, we need to work closely with the Board of Supervisors and court industries to Tazewell County for whom we can produce a workforce from high school. The idea that students can walk out of high school graduation and into a good paying, good benefits job in their hometown is not preposterous. It is simply going to take work and cooperation. Other counties around us are doing this very thing with great success. We need to get on board. This will improve economic conditions, the education system and the tax base of the county, all at one time.”

A continuing challenge for the school system is a declining enrollment.

“We will not reverse the decline of enrollment any time soon,” Woodard said. “There are several reasons for the decline. One big reason is that people do not have five, six and seven kids any more. We are a 2.3 kid family now. The other reason is industry. We need to bring in new industry. How do we do that? We work with the Board of Supervisors and School Board at one table in unison to create a plan. We court industry we can prepare students to work in. We do that, we get new industry. We get new industry - we keep our students in Tazewell County to start families. In the end we plateau our decline and revamp our school system around the eventual population of Tazewell County.”