Happy Thanksgiving

When Thanksgiving arrives each fall, it provides an opportunity to pause, reflect, and give thanks for our blessings.

Included in my many blessings is the rare and unique opportunity to wake up every day and do a job I love, with Kansans, the finest people on earth.

The more than 2.7 million people of Kansas are as diverse as 82,282 square miles of land.

In Garden City, nurses are dedicated to providing care and improving the health of their patients.

In Wichita, aircraft workers contribute to a thriving local economy and a national industry.

In Kansas City, teachers make a difference daily in the lives and futures of their students.

Across the state of Kansas, hardworking farmers work the land and cultivate the soil to put food on our table.

Overseas members of the Kansas Army National Guard, soldiers from Ft. Riley, and Kansans serving in every branch of the Armed Forces are serving our country and protecting our freedom.

The great diversity of our state from rural to urban, agriculture to industry, should be celebrated and embraced, but let us not forget that we are all citizens of one Kansas.

We are a people united.

The residents of eastern Kansas and the residents of western Kansas have more in common than they have differences.

Farmers depend on the products and services of industry while city dwellers depend on the foods grown in Kansas fields.

Families rooted generations deep welcome new families to the folds of Kansas communities.

The state of Kansas is a great state filled with even greater people. As we gather this week with family and friends to partake in a Thanksgiving meal, give thanks for the many blessings we have received this year and let us take time to celebrate the diversity and unity of Kansas.

Happy Thanksgiving!