Smyth Strong Award: Honoring Greer for giving others' hope
Pastor Mike Sage hugs Tish Greer after she received a Smyth Strong Citizen Award for her work with women in crisis. Teresa Mabe, who nominated Greer, joined in the moment.
Pastor Mike Sage shared with the Board of Supervisors about the vital work being accomplished at Hadassah Home.
According to Teresa Mabe, Tish Greer, holding the award, has helped more than 170 women and children over the last five years.
When Teresa Mabe started her recovery journey and along the way, times came when she didn’t know if she had the strength to continue. However, one person proved to be a constant rock in her life, who guided her through those moments.
Martisha “Tish” Greer “stayed right by my side… [for] every single step,” Mabe declared.
Last week, Mabe and Greer shared part of their stories before the Smyth County Board of Supervisors as the body presented Greer with a Smyth Strong Citizen Award at Mabe’s request. The awards are presented to “exemplary Smyth County citizens that show a high degree of local involvement to the County and their community. Thank you for bettering our home and the lives of those who live here.”
Mabe, who works in the county’s maintenance department, described Greer as tolerant and beautiful and possessing the “capacity to meet people where they are.” She also said she was a signpost who showed her the way in the first fragile days of recovery.
Even more, Mabe said Greer’s greatest gift was her faith, “her deep unshakeable faith in the Lord.” She helped lead Mabe to her own belief in God.
“She was the phone call that was always answered,” Mabe said when Greer said her old ways started whispering to her.
Ultimately, Mabe said, Greer transformed from a leader to a friend to a family member.
Greer knows firsthand what those moving through recovery need. She was the second resident of Hadassah Home, which, Pastor Mike Sage said, is operated with volunteers and with the support of the community’s churches. The shelter was established in 2019 as a faith-based nonprofit center for women and children in crisis. Its budget is $57,000 a year, Sage said.
The home is a ministry of Freedom Tabernacle Church. Sage serves as the church’s pastor.
Sage said that today Greer is the picture of God’s grace, but he remembered when “she was a mess”.
Acknowledging the struggles that occur at the home, Sage said it “is a ministry of God’s grace and God’s gospel.”
In prepared remarks, Mabe described Hadassah Home as “far more than a shelter. It is a place of refuge, healing, and transformation where women and children find safety, encouragement, counseling, spiritual guidance, and the tools they need to rebuild theirlives.”
She said that for the past five years Greer “has devoted herself to serving women and children facing some of life's most difficult circumstances through Hadassah Home.” In those years, Mabe said that Greer has helped more than 170 women and children “find hope for a brighter future.”
So many citizens of Smyth County try to help when they see a need, said Sage, adding, “That’s the compassion of Christ in action.”
As the words concluded, the crowd gathered at the supervisors’ meeting offered a standing ovation as its expression of gratitude and support.
Later in the meeting, Supervisor Courtney Widener said he sees the amazing change Greer is making for citizens and can’t say enough good things about her.
“There is hope,” Widener said.
