Thanks For All You Do For Herndon Families: 30 Days Of Gratitude

HERNDON, VA — All during November, Patch invited its readers to share their gratitude for others. Some were personal messages of love, while others were an acknowledgement of a job well done.

Herndon resident Melissa Keebaugh helps us wrap up our 30 Days of Gratitude with a special message for someone who helps an entire community:

"The Herndon community, specifically the students and staff at the local elementary school, want to share how grateful they are for Ms. Becky Mintz. She is the property manager at Park Ridge Gardens, one of the apartment complexes in town.

"Miss Becky, as she is affectionately called by the neighborhood kids, has supported her neighborhood in so many ways, for many years. But in June of last year, she showed her kind, thoughtful spirit when our community and that neighborhood experienced a horrendous tragedy. Upon learning of the murder of two students and their mother, she rallied for community supports, organized a candlelight vigil with donated toys and food from Chick Fil-A and hosted members of the town government, police officers and teachers.

"Over 200 people attended to pay their respects. She invited her church, Grace Covenant Church, to sponsor and continue supporting this neighborhood, along with Mobile Hope and other outreach programs by having food drives, clothing drives, toy drives and school supply drives weekly.

"Since she lives in the neighborhood, her connection to the residents is heartwarming and genuine. The children say that she is much more than just someone who 'fixes things if they are broken.' She makes them feel safe. She knows everyone by name and has an open-door policy with visits from the neighborhood families. Whenever they stop by to see her, there are treats of toys, candy or popsicles. She even supported the kids during virtual learning last year if they needed a quiet space to learn. She frequently has special events for families, such as nail painting parties and movie nights in the community office. She offers passes to the pool and community center whenever they are available, free of charge. She has organized field trips by reserving chartered buses to take families to local festivals.

"In August this year, she and her church hosted a 'Back to School' Carnival for the complex with a moon bounce, water slides, face painting, a barber/hairdresser for haircuts, NFL football players and many prizes.

"Ms. Becky Mintz makes Park Ridge Gardens a better place by sharing her kind and caring nature. She is well known in town and even named in many positive online Google reviews about the apartment community.

"One of the kids told me, 'If she moves away, I’m going with her!'

"We love you Miss Becky and we are SO grateful for you! Thank you for everything you do for our families in Herndon!"

Patch's "30 Days Of Gratitude" is a series of articles exploring the intentionality of gratitude and featuring bits of wisdom from Patch readers. We invite you to fill out our form below and write a letter of thanks to a person, group or thing that makes life in Reston better. We'll publish your letter here on Reston Patch as part of our "30 Days Of Gratitude" series.