Our We Are C-VILLE issue returns this year with another set of letters from some of our most insightful community members. In celebration of this little town surrounded by mountains, we asked those in politics, government, nonprofits, and even meteorology to tell us what they love about Charlottesville.—Richard DiCicco
Thanks for asking me to write a love letter to Charlottesville. My relationship with Charlottesville is long and somewhat complicated. After my parents divorced when I was a child, my father moved to Charlottesville. He lived here from the late 1960s until his death in 2012. When I was a kid, Charlottesville was a little foreign, because I didn’t have much contact with my father. My main connection then was due to my grandmother’s frequent surgeries and hospitalizations at UVA Hospital. I remember seeing children playing together outside in the various neighborhoods, which were so different from my home in rural Bath County.
Years later, as a young legislator and a son who was working to develop a relationship with his father, I would stop in Charlottesville to visit my dad when he worked at Brown Toyota, and later for meetings or ball games or to see my friend, Emily Couric, after she was elected to the state Senate.
When Emily passed away after a tenacious battle with pancreatic cancer, I had the opportunity to run for the state Senate. In the years since, I have gotten to know Charlottesville pretty well. The city is made up of so many vibrant neighborhoods, and there are always community events and happenings. I am not much for parades, but I have come to enjoy the Dogwood Festival parade because of the beauty of Charlottesville in the springtime. The blooming dogwoods and smiling faces along the parade route are so much fun.
Like most people, I have taken to the restaurant scene. Whether it is visiting with neighbors at Belmont Pub & Pizza, getting a quick bite to eat on the Downtown Mall during the work day, or trying out a new eatery, the food in Charlottesville is something I love. Anybody who knows me knows that I also love music. Being in Charlottesville has given me the opportunity to see so much more live music than ever before. There are good shows multiple nights a week at a variety of venues. One of my favorite places is The Local on Monday nights, when they have an open-mic night for songwriters. I have heard so many creative voices and good music at that event, and I also have made a lot of good friends. I am constantly amazed at the level of talent and the skilled musicianship that exists in this small corner of the world.
There are issues here like there are anywhere that we need to work through. We have to build a community where everyone can thrive. We have to build a multi-modal transportation system and ensure there is affordable housing for all who choose to live and work here. Charlottesville is a work in progress and we have a lot of work to do, but I like the direction it is going and am proud of so much it already has to offer.
Creigh Deeds
Virginia State Senator
My Beloved Charlottesville,
As I sit down to write this letter, my heart is overflowing with gratitude and admiration for this remarkable city and the opportunity to serve this community. Charlottesville, you are more than just a place; you are a community, a home, and a beacon of resilience and strength. From your charming streets to your rolling hills, you captivate me with your grace and history, reminding me of the strength found in unity and diversity.
Communities don’t just happen; they are the result of intentional actions, shared values, and a commitment to building connections with one another. It takes effort, understanding, and a willingness to listen and learn from one another to create a strong and vibrant community. At times the debates, and conversations may be spirited, but each and every time I walk away feeling better about our future.
Charlottesville, you are more than just a city to me. You are a home, a sanctuary, and a source of endless inspiration. Thank you for being a place where dreams are born, and where love knows no bounds. I am forever grateful to be a part of your story, and for the opportunity to earn your trust.
With warmest regards,
Michael Kochis
Charlottesville Chief of Police
Dear Charlottesville,
This past year has shown me how lucky I am to call you home.
On August 1, 2023, one of my best friends lost her 18-year-old son, Aidan, to cancer.
As a baseball player, one of Aidan’s last wishes was to have lights installed at the Pen Park baseball field where he started playing with Central Little League.
Since teaming up with CLL and City Parks & Rec to make this happen, your support for Aidan’s Lights has been phenomenal. From baseball families to folks who confess not knowing much about baseball, the offers of “what can we do” has poured in. The love people have showered on Aidan’s family has been inspiring and heartwarming.
I have called you home since 1990, and I have enjoyed serving you as Clerk of Court since 2012. I thought I could not love you more, but your support of Aidan’s Lights has shown me that I can, in fact, love you more.
With gratitude & love,
Llezelle A. Dugger
Charlottesville Clerk of Court
Over the past year, during my school board campaign, I jokingly called myself the “reluctant politician.” I never intended to make headlines or break fundraising records. I was, and am, just fighting for the kids in our community—kids like my trans daughter or neurodivergent son and thousands of others. I fight because I care about kids, and as the campaign wore on, it became abundantly clear that the thing I love most about Charlottesville (and Albemarle County!) is that this community cares about kids, too.
Charlottesville is the place where my daughter felt safe and loved enough to come out as transgender in seventh grade, where our community of friends, neighbors, teachers, and strangers welcomed her with open, loving arms.
Charlottesville is the place where my son with intellectual and emotional disabilities found inclusion and peace, where he could attend summer camp for the very first time at Camp Hope and just be a kid.
Charlottesville is a community that shows up for LGBTQ+, minority, disabled, and all kids and loves them—hard.
During my campaign, I met thousands of people around Charlottesville, and I saw day in and day out that this community is accepting and progressive. It’s a place where you can fight for the rights of ALL kids and not just be screaming into the wind. Charlottesville is a place that is made up of people who care and who are willing to fight right alongside you so that every child, regardless of their past or path, can know love and be successful.
Allison Spillman
At-Large Representative, Albemarle County School Board
Of all the places one could end up in life, I admit Charlottesville was never on my radar, pun intended. To be fair, I wasn’t sure where I would end up. You see, television is a very nomadic business. A few years here, a few years there, one usually works their way up the ladder to hit a career peak at a bigger market. My path turned out different. MUCH different.
A liquidation of my first newsroom in western Pennsylvania in late November 2007 began a search for the second stop on my television “tour de employment.” Where to next? I was fortunate to start in a decent-sized media market, but eight years of frigid, dreary, five-month-long western Pennsylvania winters were enough. I wanted a much brighter environment. I wanted to go someplace where I didn’t have to leave town every weekend to find things to do.
At the same time, I was at a place in my life where a long-term commitment to a city just wasn’t in the plans. I wanted a place where I could work two or three years, sharpen my skills, and then move on to a new city to continue my career. I spent the first 30 years of my life in Pennsylvania; I wanted nothing more than to get out and live in as many places as possible.
Two fellow Penn Staters helped me score an interview for the open chief meteorologist job at CBS19 in December 2007. Now, I’m not much for signs, but there is something perhaps beyond coincidental that both times I drove from Pennsylvania to Charlottesville for the job interviews, the clouds ended at the Virginia border and the sun came out. Eventually I was offered the job and accepted it and began on-air at CBS19 in January 2008, nearly broke and ready for the new environment in what seemed like a cool place to live. But again, only for a few years. It was a big world and I wanted to get out and live it.
Sixteen years, two months, a wife, a house, a few cats, at least 50,000 weathercasts, and several dozen Brazos Tacos later (Philly Style on flour, for the win), you’ve really done something to me, Charlottesville. I didn’t come here and expect to fall in love with you. We were only supposed to be a short-term deal, but along the way I discovered you were exactly what I was looking for. Your four distinct seasons are top-notch, your food and beverage scene unbelievable, your residents welcoming and friendly, and your list of things to do limitless.
I came here as an outsider with zero expectations and no long-term vision of staying, but time has proven otherwise. Not only did you embrace me and welcome me, Charlottesville, you ended up being a wonderful fit. You also taught me that sometimes thinking smaller can lead to much bigger things in life. For that, I will always be grateful.
Travis Koshko
Chief Meteorologist, CBS19 / FOX Virginia / ABC Virginia
I had to sit with this one for a while. Not because I don’t love Charlottesville (and not in a trite “I Love Cville” way), because I do. It took time, however, to figure out the most honest and authentic way to express that love.
What I realized is one of the best ways to demonstrate your love for something is to hold it accountable to being the best that it can be. That’s what our closest friends and partners do for us. We’re tough on kids because we believe they can be great. We should do the same for our institutions. If you really love something, you’ll resist the gravitational pull of sycophantism and speak truth to power with the goal of growth and positive evolution.
I grew up in Charlottesville. I went to Jackson- Via and rode my bike to Wayside and spent countless hours at the Fry’s Spring’s snack bar. I also got on a bus to Venable for the “QUEST” program and had access to myriad opportunities many of my peers who look like me didn’t.
Living here as an adult comes with an eerie familiarity. We haven’t made much progress on issues of equity. We’ve built big houses, convened countless committees and task forces, and, despite rapid economic improvement, haven’t moved the poverty rate hardly at all. I’m not naïve enough to think I have all the answers, but what I do want is to be part of solutions.
I love Charlottesville enough to work to try and make it better tomorrow than it is today.
Price Thomas
Executive Director, City of Promise
Charlottesville. Why do I love you? I can think of a few reasons. I chose you out of anywhere else in the world—that’s pretty indicative alone of my feelings for you. When I’m speaking in this letter to you and about you, I’m going to use “we,” because I am part of you, you are home, and we are a community who works and fights together.
Let’s get straight to the point. Charlottesville, we consistently punch above our weight class. We’re not afraid of surpassing our peers and hanging with the big boys. Budget size doesn’t matter. We get things done. We make the changes we wish to see. This is what makes us different and impressive.
Fear. Fear is not a word I would ever use to describe us. We are a leader. And we are willing to go where most people would be afraid to go.
I chose to join you in 2021. Both personally and professionally, I was attracted to your commitment to affordable housing, relief for elderly and veteran households, commitment to climate action, prioritization of equity, the bold overhaul to zoning, the opportunity to change the narrative in a post-2017 Charlottesville, the true engagement of our public, and of course, your beauty—where one can truly fall in love and stay in love with nature.
Charlottesville, you are a place where I can be authentically me. I’m the most me I’ve ever been now that I’m here. I speak my piece. I’m not scared. And you always keep me curious. You never know what’s coming next.
Thank you, Charlottesville. It is my pleasure to serve you.
Sam Sanders Jr.
Charlottesville City Manager